In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Mawaddah Association is pleased
to present to you snapshots from the lives of the Companions,
by 'Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
may Allah have mercy on him.
Suhayl ibn 'Amr,
may Allah be pleased with him.
Suhayl ibn 'Amr
was a prominent leader among the chieftains of Quraysh,
an eloquent orator among the Arabs,
and a leading figure of authority and counsel—
one without whom no decision was finalized.
When the Noble Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, openly proclaimed
the call of truth, Suhayl
had reached full maturity and middle age.
It was fitting that his sound intellect and sharp foresight
would make him the first to respond to the call of the Prophet of guidance and mercy.
However, Suhayl did not merely turn away from Islam;
rather, he set out to block people from the path of Allah by every available means,
unleashing the lash of his torment upon the early converts to Islam
to tempt them away from their religion and drive them back into polytheism.
Yet Suhayl ibn 'Amr
was soon struck by news that fell upon him like a thunderbolt,
when word reached him
that his son 'Abdullah
and his daughter Umm Kulthum
had followed Muhammad
and fled with their religion to the land of Abyssinia
to escape his persecution and that of Quraysh.
Then Allah willed that false rumors reached the emigrants in Abyssinia
that Quraysh had embraced Islam
and that Muslims were now living in peace among their families.
Consequently, a group of them returned to Mecca,
and among those who returned was 'Abdullah ibn Suhayl.
No sooner had 'Abdullah's feet touched the soil of Mecca
than his father seized him,
bound him in chains,
threw him into a dark room in his house,
and proceeded to torture him relentlessly,
persisting in abusing him
until the youth feigned apostasy from the religion of Muhammad
and announced his return to the faith of his forefathers.
This brought relief to Suhayl ibn 'Amr,
comforted his eyes,
and filled him with the euphoria of victory over Muhammad.
Soon after, the polytheists
resolved to confront the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, at Badr.
Suhayl ibn 'Amr marched out with them,
accompanied by his son 'Abdullah,
eager to see his boy unsheathe his sword against Muhammad
after having been, until recently, one of his followers.
But destiny was concealing for Suhayl
what he had never factored into his calculations.
For no sooner did the two armies meet on the battlefield of Badr
than the faithful young Muslim fled to the ranks of the Muslims,
placed himself beneath the banner of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and drew his sword to fight his father
and the rest of Allah's enemies alongside him.
When Badr concluded with that decisive victory
which Allah bestowed upon His Prophet,
the Noble Messenger, peace be upon him,
and his noble Companions stood reviewing the captives of the polytheists,
only to find Suhayl ibn 'Amr bound as a prisoner in their hands.
When Suhayl was brought before the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him,
seeking ransom, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab looked at him
and said, "O Messenger of Allah, let me knock out his two front teeth,
so he will never again stand as an orator in the gatherings of Mecca
reviling Islam and its Prophet."
But the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, replied,
"Leave them, O 'Umar.
Perhaps he will take a stance that will bring you joy, Allah willing."
Days turned into years,
and the Treaty of al-Hudaybiyyah took place.
Quraysh dispatched Suhayl ibn 'Amr
to represent them in finalizing the treaty.
The Messenger, peace be upon him, received him
alongside a group of his Companions,
among whom was Suhayl's son, 'Abdullah ibn Suhayl.
Then the Prophet, peace be upon him,
summoned 'Ali ibn Abi Talib to write the contract
and began dictating to him, saying,
"Write: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful."
Suhayl objected, "We do not recognize this;
rather, write: In Your name, O Allah."
So the Prophet, peace be upon him, said to 'Ali,
"Write: In Your name, O Allah."
Then he said, "Write: This is what Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, has agreed upon."
Suhayl said,
"If we bore witness that you were the Messenger of Allah, we would not have fought you.
Instead, write your name and your father's name."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said,
"By Allah, I am indeed the Messenger of Allah, even if you deny me.
Write: Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah."
Then he completed the treaty,
and Suhayl ibn 'Amr returned boasting
of what he believed was a victory he had achieved for his people over Muhammad.
Then days turned into years once more,
and suddenly Quraysh suffered a crushing defeat without a war.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, entered Mecca as a conqueror,
and a caller announced, "O people of Mecca!
Whoever enters his house is safe,
whoever enters the Sacred Mosque is safe,
and whoever enters the house of Abu Sufyan is safe."
As soon as Suhayl heard the call,
panic struck his heart.
He locked the door of his house upon himself, completely helpless.
Let us leave the narrative to Suhayl ibn 'Amr
to tell us about these decisive moments in his life.
Suhayl said,
"When the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, entered Mecca,
I rushed into my house and locked my door upon myself.
Then I sent for my son 'Abdullah,
feeling ashamed to look him in the eye
because of how excessively I had tortured him for embracing Islam.
When he entered upon me,
I said to him, 'Seek protection for me from Muhammad,
for I am not safe from being killed.'
So 'Abdullah went to the Prophet, peace be upon him,
and said, 'O Messenger of Allah, may I be ransomed for you, will you grant my father protection?'
He replied, 'Yes,
he is safe under the protection of Allah,
so let him come out.'
Then he turned to his Companions and said,
'Whoever among you meets Suhayl,
let him not treat him poorly.
For by my life, Suhayl possesses intellect and nobility,
and someone like Suhayl cannot remain ignorant of Islam;
rather, it was simply decreed.'
Suhayl ibn 'Amr embraced Islam after that, a devotion
that took full possession of his heart and mind.
He grew to love the Noble Messenger, peace be upon him,
with a love that lodged in the very core of his heart.
Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, said,
'I looked at Suhayl ibn 'Amr during the Farewell Pilgrimage
standing before the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
presenting the sacrificial camels to him,
while the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
slaughtered them with his noble hand.
Then the Prophet, peace be upon him, called for the barber,
who shaved his head.
I looked at Suhayl
as he collected strands of the Prophet's hair, peace be upon him,
and placed them over his eyes.
I recalled the day of al-Hudaybiyyah
and how he had refused to let "Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah" be written,
so I praised Allah for guiding him.'
From the moment he embraced Islam, Suhayl devoted himself to whatever would bring him closer to Allah
and benefit him in his Hereafter.
Among those who accepted Islam after the Conquest,
none performed more prayer, fasting, or charity than he,
nor was anyone more tender-hearted or wept more out of the fear of Allah.
Furthermore, he began going every day to Mu'adh ibn Jabal
so that he might teach him some of the Qur'an.
Dirar ibn al-Khattab said to him,
'O Abu Zayd,
do you go to this Khazraji man to teach you the Qur'an?
Why do you not go to a man from your own tribe of Quraysh?'
Suhayl replied, 'O Dirar,
this that you say is a remnant of the pre-Islamic ignorance (Jahiliyyah)
that brought upon us all that it did,
allowing others to surpass us in every good deed!
Islam has removed from us the tribal fanaticism of Jahiliyyah
and elevated peoples who had no renown.
Would that we had been with them so that we might have advanced as they advanced!'
Suhayl ibn 'Amr continued to acknowledge the virtue of the early converts
to Islam over himself and those like him,
fully aware of the distinction between them and himself.
One day, he arrived at the door of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab
alongside al-Harith ibn Hisham
and Abu Sufyan ibn Harb,
while 'Ammar ibn Yasir arrived with them,
along with men from the freed slaves who were among the early predecessors in Islam.
'Umar's doorkeeper came out and said,
'Let 'Ammar enter! Let Suhayb enter!'
The men of Quraysh began looking at one another
in anger.
Then one of them said, 'We have never seen a day like this!
'Umar permits these men to enter
while we remain at his door without him paying any attention to us!'
Suhayl said, 'If you are angry,
then be angry with yourselves!
Those people were called to Islam, and we were called;
they hastened, while we lagged behind.
How will it be for us when they are called to Paradise on the Day of Resurrection while we are left behind?
By Allah,
the virtue they surpassed you in—which you do not see—
is far greater than this door over which you compete!'
He then added, 'Indeed, these men
have surpassed you in what they achieved,
and by Allah, you have no way to catch up with what you missed
except through jihad and seeking martyrdom.'
He then brushed off his garment and stood up.
The millstone of war was turning at that time
on the borders of the Levant between the Muslims and the Romans.
So Suhayl ibn 'Amr gathered his sons,
his wives, and his grandchildren,
and set off with them to the Levant to station himself with them
in the cause of Allah. He said to those with him,
"By Allah, I will not leave a single position I took alongside the polytheists
except that I take a position like it alongside the Muslims;
nor an expense I incurred with the polytheists
except that I spend the like of it in the cause of Allah.
By Allah, I shall remain stationed as a defender in the path of Allah
until I am slain as a martyr
or die far from Mecca."
Suhail Ibn 'Amr fulfilled his oath;
he fought alongside the Muslims at the Battle of Yarmouk
and displayed the true valor of sincere believers.
Thereafter, he continued moving from one battleground
to another, until the Plague of 'Amwas
struck the lands of the Levant.
Suhail died in that plague,
along with all his children and kin who were with him.
May Allah be pleased with Suhail Ibn 'Amr
and rank him among the prophets and the martyrs—
and excellent are those as companions!
For by my life, Suhail indeed possessed
intellect and nobility,
and one like Suhail could not remain ignorant of Islam.
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.