1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,000 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 2 00:00:15,220 --> 00:00:18,219 The Mawaddah Association is pleased 3 00:00:18,219 --> 00:00:22,219 to present to you *Portraits from the Lives of the Companions* 4 00:00:22,219 --> 00:00:25,219 by 'Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha, 5 00:00:25,219 --> 00:00:27,260 may Allah have mercy on him. 6 00:00:27,260 --> 00:00:36,619 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir al-Juhani, may Allah be pleased with him. 7 00:00:47,979 --> 00:00:52,979 Here is the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, reaching the outskirts of Yathrib 8 00:00:52,979 --> 00:00:56,070 after prolonged longing and eager anticipation. 9 00:00:56,070 --> 00:00:59,070 And here are the people of the fragrant city of Medina, 10 00:00:59,070 --> 00:01:03,070 crowding into the alleyways and atop the rooftops, 11 00:01:03,070 --> 00:01:07,069 chanting *tahlil* and *takbir* in sheer joy at meeting the Prophet of Mercy 12 00:01:07,069 --> 00:01:09,069 and his companion, al-Siddiq. 13 00:01:09,069 --> 00:01:12,260 And here are the young maidens of Medina, 14 00:01:12,260 --> 00:01:17,260 coming out with tambourines in hand and longing in their eyes, 15 00:01:17,260 --> 00:01:19,260 ululating and singing: 16 00:01:19,260 --> 00:01:21,260 "The full moon has risen over us, 17 00:01:21,260 --> 00:01:24,260 from the valley of Thaniyyat al-Wada'. 18 00:01:24,260 --> 00:01:26,260 Gratitude is incumbent upon us, 19 00:01:26,260 --> 00:01:28,260 so long as a supplicant calls unto Allah." 20 00:01:28,260 --> 00:01:32,549 And here is the procession of the noble Messenger moving gracefully through the ranks, 21 00:01:32,549 --> 00:01:34,549 enveloped by yearning souls, 22 00:01:34,549 --> 00:01:37,549 surrounded by eager hearts, 23 00:01:37,549 --> 00:01:42,549 as tears of joy and radiant smiles are showered all around him. 24 00:01:42,549 --> 00:01:45,900 But 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir al-Juhani 25 00:01:45,900 --> 00:01:49,900 did not witness the procession of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, 26 00:01:49,900 --> 00:01:53,900 nor was he blessed to welcome him alongside those who welcomed him. 27 00:01:53,900 --> 00:01:58,000 That was because he had gone out into the desert with a small flock of sheep 28 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,000 to graze them there, 29 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:05,000 after extreme hunger had beset them and he feared their perish, 30 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:08,000 and they were all he possessed of worldly belongings. 31 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:12,000 Yet the joy that overwhelmed the Radiant Medina 32 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:16,000 soon swept through its near and distant deserts, 33 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:20,000 shining brightly in every corner of its blessed terrain, 34 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:24,000 and its glad tidings reached 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir al-Juhani 35 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:27,000 while he was with his sheep far off in the wilderness. 36 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,000 So let us leave the narrative to 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir 37 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:35,000 to recount to us the story of his meeting with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. 38 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:37,099 'Uqbah said: 39 00:02:37,099 --> 00:02:41,159 "The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, arrived in Medina 40 00:02:41,159 --> 00:02:44,159 while I was tending a small flock of sheep of mine. 41 00:02:44,159 --> 00:02:47,159 No sooner had the news of his arrival reached me 42 00:02:47,159 --> 00:02:51,159 than I left them and rushed to him, paying heed to nothing else. 43 00:02:51,159 --> 00:02:53,189 When I met him, I said: 44 00:02:53,189 --> 00:02:56,189 'Will you accept my pledge of allegiance, O Messenger of Allah?' 45 00:02:56,189 --> 00:02:58,259 He asked: 'Who are you?' 46 00:02:58,259 --> 00:03:02,319 I replied: ''Uqbah ibn 'Amir al-Juhani.' 47 00:03:02,319 --> 00:03:05,319 He said: 'Which is dearer to you: 48 00:03:05,319 --> 00:03:07,319 that you pledge allegiance as a Bedouin, 49 00:03:07,319 --> 00:03:09,319 or the pledge of emigration (Hijrah)?' 50 00:03:09,319 --> 00:03:11,319 I said: 'Rather, the pledge of emigration!' 51 00:03:11,319 --> 00:03:15,319 So the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, accepted my pledge 52 00:03:15,319 --> 00:03:18,319 upon that which he took the pledge of the Emigrants (Muhajirun). 53 00:03:18,319 --> 00:03:20,319 I stayed with him for a night, 54 00:03:20,319 --> 00:03:22,319 and then I returned to my sheep. 55 00:03:22,319 --> 00:03:25,379 We were twelve men who had embraced Islam, 56 00:03:25,379 --> 00:03:27,379 residing far from Medina 57 00:03:27,379 --> 00:03:30,379 to graze our sheep in its pastures. 58 00:03:30,379 --> 00:03:32,419 So we said to one another: 59 00:03:32,419 --> 00:03:35,419 'There is no good in us if we do not go 60 00:03:35,419 --> 00:03:38,419 to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, 61 00:03:38,419 --> 00:03:40,419 day after day, 62 00:03:40,419 --> 00:03:42,419 so that he may instruct us in our religion 63 00:03:42,419 --> 00:03:45,419 and let us hear the heavenly revelation descending upon him. 64 00:03:45,419 --> 00:03:48,419 So let one of us go each day to Yathrib, 65 00:03:48,419 --> 00:03:50,419 and leave his sheep with us 66 00:03:50,419 --> 00:03:52,479 so that we may graze them for him.' 67 00:03:52,479 --> 00:03:53,479 I said: 68 00:03:53,479 --> 00:03:56,479 'Go to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, 69 00:03:56,479 --> 00:03:58,479 one after another, 70 00:03:58,479 --> 00:04:01,479 and whoever goes may leave his sheep with me.' 71 00:04:01,479 --> 00:04:04,479 For I was deeply protective of my little flock 72 00:04:04,479 --> 00:04:06,479 to ever leave them in the care of anyone else. 73 00:04:06,479 --> 00:04:09,580 Then my companions began going, one 74 00:04:09,580 --> 00:04:13,580 after another, to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, 75 00:04:13,580 --> 00:04:16,579 leaving his sheep for me to tend for him. 76 00:04:16,579 --> 00:04:18,579 Whenever one returned, 77 00:04:18,579 --> 00:04:20,579 I would take from him what he had heard 78 00:04:20,579 --> 00:04:22,579 and learn from him what he had understood of fiqh. 79 00:04:22,579 --> 00:04:26,579 But soon, I came to my senses and said to myself: 80 00:04:26,579 --> 00:04:27,579 'Woe to you! 81 00:04:27,579 --> 00:04:31,610 Is it for the sake of a few sheep that neither fatten nor satisfy hunger 82 00:04:31,610 --> 00:04:36,610 that you deprive yourself of the companionship of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, 83 00:04:36,610 --> 00:04:39,610 and of taking knowledge directly from him without an intermediary?' 84 00:04:39,610 --> 00:04:42,610 So I gave up my little flock of sheep, 85 00:04:42,610 --> 00:04:45,610 and set out for Medina to reside in the Mosque 86 00:04:45,610 --> 00:04:49,829 in the close company of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him." 87 00:04:49,829 --> 00:04:53,829 It never crossed the mind of 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir al-Juhani, 88 00:04:53,829 --> 00:04:57,829 when he made this decisive, resolute choice, 89 00:04:57,829 --> 00:05:03,829 that a decade later he would become one of the greatest scholars among the Companions, 90 00:05:03,829 --> 00:05:05,829 a master Qur'an reciter among the foremost reciters, 91 00:05:05,829 --> 00:05:09,829 an eminent commander among the leaders of the conquests, 92 00:05:09,829 --> 00:05:12,829 and a distinguished governor among the rulers of Islam. 93 00:05:12,829 --> 00:05:15,829 Nor could he ever have imagined, 94 00:05:15,829 --> 00:05:18,829 as he abandoned his little flock of sheep 95 00:05:18,829 --> 00:05:20,829 and turned wholly to Allah and His Messenger, 96 00:05:20,829 --> 00:05:26,829 that he would be at the vanguard of the army that conquered the jewel of the world, Damascus, 97 00:05:26,829 --> 00:05:31,829 and would build a home for himself amidst its lush gardens near Bab Touma. 98 00:05:31,829 --> 00:05:34,930 Nor could he ever have conceived 99 00:05:34,930 --> 00:05:40,930 that he would be one of the commanders who would conquer the green emerald of the world: 100 00:05:40,930 --> 00:05:41,930 Egypt; 101 00:05:41,930 --> 00:05:44,930 and that he would become its governor, 102 00:05:44,930 --> 00:05:48,930 laying out a home for himself at the foot of its Mount Mokattam. 103 00:05:48,930 --> 00:05:53,930 For all these were matters hidden within the unseen, 104 00:05:53,930 --> 00:05:55,930 known to none but Allah. 105 00:05:55,930 --> 00:06:01,220 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir al-Juhani stayed attached to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, 106 00:06:01,220 --> 00:06:04,220 just as a shadow accompanies its master. 107 00:06:04,220 --> 00:06:07,220 He would hold the reins of his mule wherever he rode, 108 00:06:07,220 --> 00:06:10,220 and walk before him wherever he turned. 109 00:06:10,220 --> 00:06:15,220 The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, would often seat him behind him on his mount, 110 00:06:15,220 --> 00:06:18,220 until he came to be known as "the Prophet's co-rider." 111 00:06:18,220 --> 00:06:22,220 At times, the noble Prophet would dismount from his mule for him, 112 00:06:22,220 --> 00:06:24,220 so that 'Uqbah would ride 113 00:06:24,220 --> 00:06:28,220 while the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would walk. 114 00:06:28,220 --> 00:06:30,410 'Uqbah narrated, saying: 115 00:06:30,410 --> 00:06:37,410 "I was leading the mule of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, through one of the woods of Medina, 116 00:06:37,410 --> 00:06:38,410 when he said to me: 117 00:06:38,410 --> 00:06:41,410 'O 'Uqbah, will you not ride?' 118 00:06:41,410 --> 00:06:43,410 I thought of saying no, 119 00:06:43,410 --> 00:06:47,410 but I feared that doing so might be an act of disobedience to the Messenger of Allah. 120 00:06:47,410 --> 00:06:50,410 So I said: 'Yes, O Prophet of Allah.' 121 00:06:50,410 --> 00:06:53,410 The Messenger dismounted from his mule and I rode it, 122 00:06:53,410 --> 00:06:55,410 in compliance with his command, 123 00:06:55,410 --> 00:06:57,410 while he walked. 124 00:06:57,410 --> 00:07:00,410 Soon thereafter, I dismounted from it, 125 00:07:00,410 --> 00:07:03,410 and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, rode. 126 00:07:03,410 --> 00:07:05,410 Then he said to me: 127 00:07:05,410 --> 00:07:06,410 'O 'Uqbah, 128 00:07:06,410 --> 00:07:10,410 shall I not teach you two Surahs the like of which have never been seen?' 129 00:07:10,410 --> 00:07:12,540 I said: 'Certainly, O Messenger of Allah!' 130 00:07:12,540 --> 00:07:14,600 So he recited to me: 'Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of daybreak,' 131 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:16,600 “Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of the Daybreak” (113:1) 132 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:18,600 and 'Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of mankind.' 133 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:20,600 Then the prayer was established, 134 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:23,600 and he stepped forward and led the prayer reciting both of them. 135 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:24,600 Then he said: 136 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:27,600 'Recite them whenever you go to sleep and whenever you wake up.' 137 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:29,600 'Uqbah said: 138 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:32,600 'And I never ceased reciting them throughout the span of my life.'" 139 00:07:33,759 --> 00:07:36,759 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir al-Juhani directed 140 00:07:36,759 --> 00:07:38,759 his entire concern toward two pursuits: 141 00:07:38,759 --> 00:07:40,759 knowledge and jihad. 142 00:07:40,759 --> 00:07:43,759 He devoted himself to them body and soul, 143 00:07:43,759 --> 00:07:45,759 dedicating his utmost effort 144 00:07:45,759 --> 00:07:47,759 in the most generous and noble manner. 145 00:07:47,759 --> 00:07:49,860 As for the realm of knowledge, 146 00:07:49,860 --> 00:07:51,860 he drank deeply from the abundant, 147 00:07:51,860 --> 00:07:53,860 sweet springs of the Messenger of Allah, 148 00:07:53,860 --> 00:07:56,860 until he became a master reciter, a scholar of hadith, 149 00:07:56,860 --> 00:07:58,860 a jurist, an expert in the laws of inheritance, 150 00:07:58,860 --> 00:08:01,860 a man of letters, an eloquent orator, and a poet. 151 00:08:01,860 --> 00:08:04,860 He possessed one of the most beautiful voices in reciting the Qur'an. 152 00:08:04,860 --> 00:08:07,860 Whenever the night fell dark 153 00:08:07,860 --> 00:08:09,860 and the universe grew still, 154 00:08:09,860 --> 00:08:11,860 he would turn to the Book of Allah, 155 00:08:11,860 --> 00:08:14,860 reciting from its lucid verses, 156 00:08:14,860 --> 00:08:18,860 so that the hearts of the noble Companions would listen intently to his chanting, 157 00:08:18,860 --> 00:08:20,860 their hearts humbling in reverence, 158 00:08:20,860 --> 00:08:24,860 and their eyes overflowing with tears out of fear of Allah. 159 00:08:24,860 --> 00:08:27,860 One day, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab called for him 160 00:08:27,860 --> 00:08:28,860 and said: 161 00:08:28,860 --> 00:08:31,860 "Recite some of the Book of Allah for me, O 'Uqbah." 162 00:08:31,860 --> 00:08:33,860 He replied: 163 00:08:33,860 --> 00:08:35,860 "I hear and obey, O Commander of the Believers." 164 00:08:35,860 --> 00:08:39,860 Then he began to recite what was easy of the verses of the Wise Reminder, 165 00:08:39,860 --> 00:08:41,860 while 'Umar wept 166 00:08:41,860 --> 00:08:44,860 until his tears moistened his beard. 167 00:08:44,860 --> 00:08:48,860 'Uqbah left behind a copy of the Qur'an written in his own hand, 168 00:08:48,860 --> 00:08:52,860 and this copy remained until recent times, 169 00:08:52,860 --> 00:08:54,860 preserved in Egypt 170 00:08:54,860 --> 00:08:57,860 in the mosque known as the Mosque of 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir. 171 00:08:57,860 --> 00:08:59,860 At the end of it, it was inscribed: 172 00:08:59,860 --> 00:09:02,860 "Written by 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir al-Juhani." 173 00:09:02,860 --> 00:09:08,950 This copy of 'Uqbah's was among the oldest manuscripts of the Qur'an found on the face of the earth, 174 00:09:08,950 --> 00:09:12,950 but it was lost along with what has been lost of our precious heritage 175 00:09:12,950 --> 00:09:15,950 while we remained oblivious of it. 176 00:09:15,950 --> 00:09:18,080 As for the realm of jihad, 177 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:22,080 it suffices us to know that 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir al-Juhani 178 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:28,080 witnessed the Battle of Uhud and the subsequent military expeditions with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, 179 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:32,080 and that he was one of the valiant, heroic warriors 180 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:36,080 who fought with the utmost gallantry on the day Damascus was conquered. 181 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:41,080 Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah rewarded him for his remarkable valor 182 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:46,080 by sending him as a bearer of glad tidings to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab in Medina to inform him of the victory. 183 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:49,080 So he rode for eight continuous days and nights, 184 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:52,080 from Friday to Friday, 185 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:55,080 hastening his pace without interruption, 186 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:58,080 until he gave al-Faruq the glad tidings of the great victory. 187 00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:03,080 Furthermore, he was one of the commanders of the Muslim armies that conquered Egypt, 188 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:07,080 so the Commander of the Believers, Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, rewarded him 189 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:11,080 by appointing him as its governor for three years. 190 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:14,080 Then he dispatched him to lead the expedition against the island of Rhodes 191 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:16,080 in the Mediterranean Sea. 192 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:21,080 Such was 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir al-Juhani's passion for jihad 193 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:24,080 that he committed the hadiths of jihad to memory 194 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:27,080 and specialized in narrating them to the Muslims; 195 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:30,080 he was also dedicated to mastering archery, 196 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:35,179 to the extent that whenever he sought recreation, he spent it in archery. 197 00:10:35,179 --> 00:10:39,179 When 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir al-Juhani fell terminally ill 198 00:10:39,179 --> 00:10:40,179 while in Egypt, 199 00:10:40,179 --> 00:10:43,179 he gathered his sons, gave them his counsel, and said: 200 00:10:43,179 --> 00:10:48,179 "O my sons, I forbid you from three things, so guard them well: 201 00:10:48,179 --> 00:10:52,179 Do not accept a hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) 202 00:10:52,179 --> 00:10:54,179 except from a trustworthy narrator; 203 00:10:54,179 --> 00:10:58,179 do not take on debt, even if you must wear rough cloaks; 204 00:10:58,179 --> 00:11:00,179 and do not write poetry, 205 00:11:00,179 --> 00:11:03,179 lest it distract your hearts from the Qur'an." 206 00:11:03,179 --> 00:11:06,299 And when death approached him, 207 00:11:06,299 --> 00:11:08,299 they buried him at the foot of Mount al-Muqattam. 208 00:11:08,299 --> 00:11:11,299 Then they turned to examine his estate, 209 00:11:11,299 --> 00:11:15,299 and found that he had left behind seventy-odd bows, 210 00:11:15,299 --> 00:11:18,299 each bow accompanied by a quiver and arrows, 211 00:11:18,299 --> 00:11:22,429 and he had bequeathed them all to be used in the cause of Allah. 212 00:11:22,429 --> 00:11:28,429 May Allah brighten the face of the Qur'an reciter, the scholar, the warrior, 'Uqbah Ibn 'Amir al-Juhani, 213 00:11:28,429 --> 00:11:32,429 and reward him on behalf of Islam and the Muslims with the best of rewards.