In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The Mawaddah Association is pleased
to present to you:
"Portraits from the Lives of the Companions"
by 'Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
may Allah have mercy upon him.
Zayd ibn Sa'nah,
may Allah be pleased with him.
Zayd ibn Sa'nah once sat
with a gathering of leading
Jewish rabbis,
listening to a sermon by a scholar
who was among the greatest of their rabbis,
known as Ibn al-Hayyaban.
This Ibn al-Hayyaban
had arrived among them as an immigrant
and resolved to take up residence
with them in Yathrib.
Zayd ibn Sa'nah was deeply captivated
by the brilliance of the rabbi's discourse,
the sincerity of his tone,
the fervor of his faith,
and his vast erudition in the Torah.
Yet, as he was
listening intently to him,
he kept asking himself about the reasons
that had prompted this scholar
to abandon a land of trellised gardens,
luxuriant shade,
and flowing waters,
driving him to traverse
such vast distances
only to spend the remainder of his life
in Yathrib,
far removed from his kin and homeland,
away from his clan and dwelling.
No sooner had Ibn al-Hayyaban finished
speaking
than Zayd ibn Sa'nah took the initiative,
saying:
"O venerable rabbi!
You have indeed arrived in our land most welcome,
and among us you shall find family.
But what is it that drove you
to leave the land of the Levant,
about which our sacred scriptures
speak so abundantly,
praising the mildness of its climate,
the sweetness of its water,
the beauty of its meadows,
and the abundance of its blessings?
Was someone barring you from your religion,
or standing between you
and the observance of your rites?"
The rabbi replied:
"By Allah, the land of the Levant is indeed
just as you have described,
and far more than you have depicted:
exquisite water, a mild climate,
and an abundance of good things;
nor were we ever unsafe there,
but rather completely at peace.
Nothing brought me out of it except
the anticipation of the advent of a Prophet
whose era has cast its shadow and whose time is near,
and this pleasant town of yours
has been designated as the place of his migration
and the launching point of his mission."
Zayd ibn Sa'nah asked:
"Do you mean that
Arab Prophet
whom we find mentioned in our scriptures,
and with glad tidings of whom we inform our children?"
He answered, "I mean none other than him."
Then the rabbi proceeded
to speak to the people
about the characteristics of the awaited Prophet,
describing the signs of prophethood
with which he would be adorned,
exhorting the Jews to follow him,
promising them immense good
if they believed in him and gave him victory,
and warning them of evil
if they turned away from him and betrayed him.
But Ibn al-Hayyaban
did not live long thereafter;
his appointed time soon arrived,
and he passed away before realizing his dream
of beholding the awaited Prophet,
partaking in his mission,
believing in his prophethood,
and winning the honor of supporting him.
Not long
after the death of Ibn al-Hayyaban,
reports began
pouring into Yathrib one after another
about the emergence of Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and the growing number of his followers
day after day.
Thereupon, Zayd ibn Sa'nah rose up
to remind his Jewish kinsmen
of all that had been told to them
by Ibn al-Hayyaban,
urging them to investigate
the matter of this Prophet
whose coming they used to proclaim
with joyous anticipation,
and by whom they used to threaten the Arabs
whenever the Arabs inflicted upon them
any harm or brought upon them
any misfortune.
He tirelessly urged them
to take the initiative toward him,
lest anyone precede them
to this immense good.
Yet Zayd
met from his Jewish people
nothing but aversion and rejection.
Soon he began to sense the fire
of malice that began
eating away at their hearts out of envy
toward this Prophet,
whose star was ascending
and whose call was radiating brilliantly.
Then the days began
passing swiftly,
and events unfolded in rapid succession,
as caravans of the Emigrant believers
from Mecca arrived in
Yathrib with the warmest welcome,
finding welcoming families in place of their own,
and true brothers in place of their brethren.
Suddenly, joyful tidings
flooded the city
that the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him, was approaching it,
accompanied by his intimate companion
and close friend, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq.
Yathrib resounded
with jubilation and shone with delight,
and the people poured out
in large crowds and singly
to welcome the Prophet of guidance
and mercy, peace be upon him,
and his companion.
At this, the Jews grew deeper in distress upon distress,
and their chests were filled
with resentment upon resentment.
As for Zayd ibn Sa'nah,
his situation was entirely different.
Let us leave the floor to him
so he may recount to us his story
with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him.
Zayd ibn Sa'nah said:
"I scrutinized this newcomer,
Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah,
with the closest, most thorough examination,
and observed him
with the most meticulous and comprehensive tracking.
Not a single sign
among the signs of prophethood remained
but that I recognized it in him
and discerned it in his noble countenance,
peace be upon him,
after investigating him closely
and gazing at him at length—
except for two traits that I had not yet verified
in him:
the first was
that his forbearance precedes his anger,
and the second was
that extreme insolence shown toward him
only increases him
in graciousness and mildness.
So I sought to test these two
characteristics until I could verify them in him.
That came to pass when the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
came out one day
from his apartments,
accompanied by 'Ali ibn Abi Talib,
may Allah be pleased with him.
A man mounted upon his camel stopped
beside him,
saying:
'O Messenger of Allah!
Indeed, a clan of mine in the village of Banu So-and-so
have embraced Islam,
and I had told them
that if they entered Islam, Allah would shower
His bounties upon them
and grant them abundant provision.
Yet no sooner had they done so than they were struck
by a severe, devastating drought
and an exhausting withholding of rain.
And I fear, O Messenger of Allah,
lest they leave Islam
seeking worldly gain elsewhere,
just as they entered it desiring it.
So if you deem it appropriate to send
something to relieve them,
please do so."
Thereupon, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, glanced
at 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib,
an inquiring look asking him
about what funds he had available.
'Ali replied,
"Nothing remains with me of what came to us,
O Messenger of Allah."
Zayd Ibn Sa'nah recounted:
"I seized this opportunity,
stepped forward to the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and said, 'O Muhammad!
Would you sell me
a specified amount of dates to be delivered at a fixed,
agreed-upon future date, for such-and-such
an amount of money?' He replied, 'Yes.'
So I untied my purse
and took out eighty
mithqals of gold,
handing them over to the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
He then gave the money to the man,
saying, 'Go and relieve your people
with this money, and distribute it justly among them.'"
Zayd Ibn Sa'nah continued:
"When there remained
a day,
or two or three days before the term expired,
I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
accompanied by
Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and a small group
of his Companions,
having gone out to perform the funeral prayer over
one of the Muslims.
When they finished their prayer,
the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, drew near
a wall to sit beside it.
I came up to him, grabbed him
by the collar of his shirt and cloak,
looked at him
with a harsh, menacing glare,
and said to him, 'O Muhammad!
Will you not pay me my due?
By Allah, I have never known you,
O clan of 'Abd al-Muttalib,
to be anything but procrastinators when it comes to repaying debts!
And indeed, I know
your ill nature better than anyone!'
Then I glanced at those around him,
and saw 'Umar's eyes
rolling furiously in his face
like rotating celestial spheres.
He glared fiercely at me,
and said,
'Do you dare speak to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
in the manner I hear,
and treat him as I see?
By the One in Whose hand is my soul,
were it not for my fear of
depriving you of the chance to embrace faith,
I would have struck off your head with my sword!'
As for the greatest Messenger,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
he looked at me
with utmost calm and composure.
Then he turned to 'Umar and said,
'O 'Umar,
he and I
were in greater need of something else from you:
you should have
urged me to repay handsomely,
and urged him to demand courteously.
Then he said to him,
'Take him with you, O 'Umar,
give him his full due,
and grant him twenty additional sa's of
dates for having frightened him.'
'Umar's anger subsided,
so he took me with him,
gave me my full due,
and added twenty sa's of
dates. I asked,
'What right do I have to this
extra amount, O 'Umar?'
He replied, 'The Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, ordered me
to give it to you because
I frightened you, so take it.'
I asked, 'Do you know who I am,
O 'Umar?' He replied,
'No.' I said,
'I am Zayd Ibn Sa'nah.'
He asked,
'The Jewish scholar?' I replied, 'Yes.'
He said,
'Then what drove you to do
to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
what you did,
and to say to him what you said?'
I said, 'O 'Umar,
there was not a single sign of prophethood
except that I recognized it
upon the face of the Messenger, peace be upon him,
when I looked at him,
save for two signs
which I had not yet tested in him:
that his forbearance precedes his anger,
and the second,
that intense provocation
and foolish treatment
only increase him in forbearance.
Now I have verified both of them!
So I call you to witness, O 'Umar,
that I am well pleased with Allah as my Lord,
with Islam as my religion,
and with Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
as my Prophet.
And half of my wealth
is given in charity to the Ummah of Muhammad,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.'
'Umar remarked,
'Rather say: to some of them,
for your wealth cannot encompass them all.'
I said, 'To some of them.'
Then 'Umar
Ibn al-Khattab and Zayd Ibn Sa'nah returned
to the Messenger, peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, asked,
'What brings you both back?'
Zayd replied,
'I have returned to testify
that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah,
alone without partner,
and to testify that you are His servant
and His Messenger,
the elite of His prophets,
and the seal of His messengers.'"
Ibn Sa'nah embraced Islam
after deep reflection
and careful examination
of the accounts of the noble Messenger,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Through Muhammad
and his Companions,
the exalted edifice was firmly established;
so let the poetic verses overflow
in praise of them,
in praise of them.