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.
Abu Lubaba, may Allah be pleased with him.
In the second year before the Hijrah,
caravans of pilgrims set out from the polytheists of Yathrib,
turning their faces toward Makkah, intending to perform the pilgrimage.
Among the ranks of these polytheistic caravans
were seventy men and two women
who had embraced Islam.
They approached Makkah,
their hearts filled with the hope of meeting their noble Prophet,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
And the bearer of their upright religion,
for many of them had believed in him
before their eyes had even beheld him.
No sooner had they arrived in Makkah
than they made an appointment with the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
to meet in secret
on the second day of the Tashriq days.
The place of the meeting was
at the first Jamrah in Mina.
As for the time,
it was in the last third of the night,
for fear that the Quraysh might find out.
The night was a veil,
and the world was asleep,
save for the hearts of the believers.
And there,
the early believers from the Ansar renewed their pledge
to meet their Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
in a place hidden from the Quraysh.
And there, too,
they extended their hands to him and said,
"We pledge our allegiance to you, O Messenger of Allah,
for we are people of war and people of arms,
which we have inherited from generation to generation."
Then they pledged to protect him
just as they protected themselves, their wives, and their children,
and that he and his Companions should migrate to them.
Among the foremost of those who pledged allegiance
was Abu Lubaba,
Rifa'ah ibn al-Mundhir.
Before these believing men who had pledged allegiance dispersed
from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
he chose twelve men from among their leaders,
appointing them as their representatives (nuqaba').
Among these representatives
was Abu Lubaba.
They returned to Yathrib with the believing vanguard,
“Jubilant (are they) because of that which Allah hath bestowed upon them of His bounty, rejoicing for the sake of those who have not joined them but are left behind: That there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve.” (3:170)
overjoyed at having met their Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
resolved to fulfill the conditions of their pledge.
They began to make preparations to receive the waves of the Muhajirun (emigrants),
and made ready to welcome the noble Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Then Allah granted His Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, permission to migrate,
so he turned his face toward Madinah,
accompanied by his intimate friend and companion,
Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him.
No sooner had the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, reached the outskirts of Yathrib
than the entire city surged forth
to welcome its great guest
and greet its noble Prophet,
Muhammad ibn Abdullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Abu Lubaba was among the foremost of those welcoming and greeting him.
Days passed,
the foundations of the Islamic state were laid,
and Allah granted His Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, permission for jihad.
The Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, resolved to meet the polytheists at Badr.
When the Muslim army set out from Madinah,
heading to meet their enemy and the enemy of Allah,
Abu Lubaba was in the army,
yearning for jihad
and hoping for martyrdom.
But the noble Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
sent him back from partway along the journey,
appointing him as his deputy over Madinah.
He commanded him to return,
and Abu Lubaba submitted to the command.
He returned, his heart heavy with sorrow
and his soul filled with regret.
But the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had commanded,
and the command of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is not to be refused.
The noble Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sensed
the conflicting emotions stirring within Abu Lubaba.
For being the deputy of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in Madinah
is an honor like no other,
yet being deprived of the reward of jihad
is a loss like no other.
So the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, comforted him,
assigned him a share of the spoils,
and promised him the reward,
as if he had been present at Badr.
Abu Lubaba remained sincere to his Lord,
faithful to the pledge he had made to his Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
until the Battle of Banu Qurayza,
where his mount stumbled,
and he committed a slip he never imagined he would make.
This was because the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
had headed toward Banu Qurayza after the Battle of the Trench (Khandaq),
to discipline them for breaking their covenant,
their betrayal of him, and their treachery against the Muslims.
He besieged their fortresses from every side,
surrounding them as a shackle surrounds the neck.
When the siege intensified upon them,
they sent to the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
to negotiate their surrender,
stipulating certain conditions for themselves.
But the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, refused
to accept any condition from them,
and ordered them to submit to his judgment, whatever it might be.
He had already decreed that their fighting men be executed,
and they did not know.
So they sent to the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, saying,
"Send us Abu Lubaba so we may consult him."
There had been an alliance between them and the tribe of Abu Lubaba
during the Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic era).
When Abu Lubaba came to them,
the women and children gathered around him, weeping and wailing.
The men stood before him, asking,
"Do you think we should submit to the judgment of Muhammad, O Abu Lubaba?"
He said, "Yes."
But he gestured with his hand toward his throat to signal to them
that the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
had decreed their execution.
Abu Lubaba said,
"By Allah, my feet had not yet moved from their place
before I realized that I had betrayed Allah and His Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him."
He was overcome with remorse.
"I do not know how I can escape the wrath of Allah."
Abu Lubaba did not go to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
but instead headed straight to his house.
He brought an iron chain,
and asked to be tied to one of the pillars of the Mosque,
standing on his feet.
Then he said, "By Allah, I will not untie myself,
nor will I consume food or drink,
until Allah accepts my repentance or I die."
When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, saw him in this state
and learned of what he had done,
he said, "Had he come to me,
I would have sought forgiveness for him.
But since he has done what he has done,
I will not release him until Allah releases him."
Abu Lubaba remained in this state for days,
until his body grew weak,
his bones became frail,
and his strength failed.
Then other days followed,
during which his hearing was affected,
so he could barely hear anything.
His sight also dimmed,
so he could barely see.
He had a daughter who would come to him, weeping and wailing,
and she would untie his bonds for every prayer,
then tie him back to his chain afterward.
Abu Lubaba spent six days and nights tied to the pillar of the Mosque,
until relief came to him from the heavens
at the dawn of the seventh night.
This occurred in the house of Umm Salama, may Allah be pleased with her.
Umm Salama said,
"I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
at dawn, laughing.
I said,
'Why are you laughing, O Messenger of Allah?
May Allah keep you smiling.'
He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
'Allah has accepted the repentance of Abu Lubaba.'
I said, 'Shall I give him the good news, O Messenger of Allah?'
He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
'Yes, if you wish.'"
So Umm Salama stood at the door of her chamber,
and this was before the veil (hijab) was imposed upon the wives of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and she said,
"O Abu Lubaba,
rejoice,
for Allah has accepted your repentance."
Umm Salama said,
"The people rushed to him to untie him."
But he said,
"No, by Allah,
not until the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, unties me with his own hand."
When the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, went out for prayer,
he untied him himself.
No one can fathom the joy of Abu Lubaba at Allah’s acceptance of his repentance,
or imagine the extent of his delight at his Prophet’s, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, pleasure with him.
For from that day on, he remained
reciting the words of Allah, the Almighty,
which were revealed regarding him, and whenever he recited them,
his eyes would well up with joy at Allah’s acceptance of his repentance.
"Had he come to me,
I would have sought forgiveness for him."
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
In their praise, are they... are they...