In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Mawaddah Association
Presents
The Ten Promised Paradise
Al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam
May Allah be pleased with him.
Loving the Companions and the Prophet's kin is an established Sunnah;
Through it, I hope to meet my Lord when He gives us life.
Loving the Companions and the Prophet's kin—
The Muslims used to strike adages of courage and valor
Using Al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam, may Allah be pleased with him,
Saying, "A finer horseman than Al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam!"
And no wonder,
For Al-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with him, was a daring knight
And a fearless hero.
He never missed a single battle alongside the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him;
You would find him in every campaign and battle at the vanguard of the army
And at the forefront of the ranks.
He was characterized by extraordinary courage, rare heroism,
And total devotion to aiding this religion.
Here are some snapshots and moments that demonstrate the bravery of a first-rate man:
On the day of Badr,
The Muslims marched out with only two horsemen among them:
A horse belonging to Al-Zubayr
And a horse belonging to Al-Miqdad, may Allah be pleased with them both.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, placed
Al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam in command of the right flank
And Al-Miqdad ibn 'Amr over the left flank.
Al-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with him,
Had wrapped a yellow turban around his head,
So the angels descended wearing the mark of Al-Zubayr—
Meaning in his likeness—
Fighting alongside the Muslims.
During the battle,
He encountered his paternal uncle, Nawfal ibn Khuwaylid,
Who used to inflict severe torment upon him and the Muslims in Mecca,
So he advanced toward him and killed him.
He also killed Al-Sa'ib ibn Abi Al-Sa'ib.
Then he met 'Ubaydah ibn Sa'id ibn al-'As,
Who was agnomenized Abu Dhat al-Kirsh
Due to his strength and might.
He was fully armored and armed,
Nothing visible of him except his eyes,
And the Muslims were wary of him.
When he saw Al-Zubayr, he said mockingly,
"I am Abu Dhat al-Kirsh!"
So Al-Zubayr fought him, utterly indifferent to him,
And struck him in the eye with his short spear—
Which was the only exposed point on him.
A short spear is a wooden staff
Shorter than a lance,
With a sharp iron tip at its end.
Thus Abu Dhat al-Kirsh died
From this blow struck by Al-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with him.
The Muslims rejoiced over this,
And Al-Zubayr wanted to extract the spear
From where it had struck the man,
But he was unable to do so
Due to the force and depth of the blow.
So he placed his foot upon him
And pulled it with great force,
Finally wrenching it out, though its two ends had bent.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, asked him for it,
So he gave it to him,
And it remained with him until he passed away, peace be upon him.
Then Abu Bakr asked for it,
Then 'Umar,
Then 'Uthman,
Then 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with them all,
And Al-Zubayr would grant it to them.
When Al-Zubayr died, may Allah be pleased with him,
His son 'Abdullah requested it from 'Ali,
So he returned it to him,
And it remained with him until he died.
Al-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with him, was wounded
At the Battle of Badr,
One wound being upon his shoulder blade.
His son 'Urwah, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
"I used to insert my fingers into them and play with them,"
Due to the large size of those strike marks.
At the Battle of Uhud,
After the idolaters had departed,
And after the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
And his Companions had suffered what they suffered,
He, peace be upon him, summoned
Abu Bakr and Al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam,
May Allah be pleased with them both,
Along with seventy men,
To set out in pursuit of the enemy troops
So that they would know that the Muslims still possessed strength,
And thus not consider returning to wipe out the Muslims.
So the noble Companions set out in pursuit of the idolatrous army
Despite the wounds they bore.
When the idolaters heard of them,
They grew fearful and withdrew,
And Allah revealed concerning the Companions His divine word.
After the battle,
Al-Zubayr's mother came,
Safiyyah bint 'Abd al-Muttalib, may Allah be pleased with her,
To look upon her brother Hamzah,
Whom the idolaters had mutilated.
So the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said
To her son Al-Zubayr:
"Meet her and turn her back,
Lest she see what has been done to her brother."
So Al-Zubayr went to her and said to her,
"O mother,
Indeed, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
Commands you to return."
She said, "And why?
I have already learned that my brother was mutilated,
And that was for the sake of Allah;
I shall surely seek reward and bear it with patience, if Allah wills."
So the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said
To Al-Zubayr:
"Let her proceed."
So she came to him, looked upon him,
Offered prayers for him, uttered the statement of return to Allah,
And sought forgiveness for him.
She brought out two garments she had with her
And said to her son,
"These are two garments
I brought for my brother Hamzah,
So shroud him in them."
Then Al-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with him, looked,
And behold, beside Hamzah
Was a slain man from the Ansar,
Who had been treated just as Hamzah was treated.
He said:
"So we felt reluctant and embarrassed
To shroud Hamzah in two garments
While the Ansari man had no shroud.
So we said:
One garment for Hamzah
And one garment for the Ansari.
We measured them,
And one of them was larger than the other,
So we cast lots between them
And shrouded each one
Of them in the garment that fell to him."
During the Battle of the Trench,
And after unconfirmed reports began to circulate
Regarding the betrayal of the pact by the Jews of Banu Quraythah
Under those difficult circumstances,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, wanted
To verify these reports,
So he said:
"Who will bring us news of Banu Quraythah?"
Al-Zubayr said,
"I will, O Messenger of Allah!"
So he went on a horse
And brought back their news.
Then the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, asked a second time:
"Who will bring us news of Banu Quraythah?"
Al-Zubayr said,
"I will, O Messenger of Allah!"
So he went and brought the news.
Then on the third occasion, he did the same,
Whereupon the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said, "Every prophet has a disciple, and my disciple is Al-Zubayr."
And he ransomed him at that moment with his own father and mother, peace be upon him.
So he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said, "May my father and mother be ransomed for you!" And what a monumental virtue that was for Al-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with him!
When the Muslims entered Mecca, Al-Zubayr was the bearer of one of the three banners of the Emigrants during the Conquest of Mecca,
As the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, placed Khalid ibn al-Walid over the right flank,
Placed Al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam over the left flank, and placed Abu 'Ubaydah over the foot soldiers.
After the death of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
Al-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with him, remained faithful to his covenant with the Caliphs after him
And never wavered from supporting Islam.
He was among the commanders of the armies during the caliphate of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him,
And participated in the Battle of Yarmouk against the Romans.
He was among the most exceptional horsemen and brave warriors among the people,
So a group of heroes gathered around him on that day
And said, "Will you not charge so that we may charge with you?"
He replied, "Indeed, you will not hold firm."
They said, "Nay, we will!" So he charged, and he charged again.
When he faced the Roman ranks, he breached them and charged forward,
Penetrating the Roman ranks until he emerged from the other side and returned to his companions.
Then they came to him a second time,
And he did as he had done the first time,
Sustaining a deep wound that day between his shoulders.
When 'Amr ibn al-'As set out toward Egypt to conquer it,
He had with him a force numbering three thousand five hundred men,
So he wrote to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, requesting reinforcements.
'Umar felt concern over the small number of 'Amr's forces,
So he sent him four thousand men,
Led by senior Companions:
Al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam, Al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad,
'Ubadah ibn al-Samit, and Maslamah ibn Mukhallad, may Allah be pleased with them.
He wrote to him: "I have reinforced you with four thousand men,
Over every thousand of whom is a man equal to a thousand."
Al-Zubayr was at the head of these men,
And he was counted as equivalent to a thousand men.
When Al-Zubayr arrived before 'Amr, he found him besieging the Fortress of Babylon,
So Al-Zubayr immediately mounted his horse and rode around the trench surrounding the fortress,
Then scattered men around the trench.
It was said to Al-Zubayr, "Plague is within it!"
He replied, "We have only come for thrusting with spears and for plague!"
The siege dragged on until its duration reached seven months,
And the conquest proved slow for 'Amr ibn al-'As,
Al-Zubayr said, "I offer my life to Allah,"
"hoping that Allah will grant victory to the Muslims through this."
So he placed a ladder and rested it against the side of the fortress,
then he climbed up, instructing them to all join in the takbir as soon as they heard him utter it.
Suddenly, the Romans were caught off guard as al-Zubayr stood atop the fortress wall, brandishing his sword and crying "Allahu Akbar."
The men then rushed to climb the ladder, until 'Umar restrained them
out of fear that it might break.
When the Romans saw that the Arabs had overcome the fortress, they withdrew,
and thus the Fortress of Babylon opened its gates to the Muslims.
With its fall, the decisive battle for the conquest of Egypt came to an end,
and al-Zubayr's extraordinary bravery was
the direct catalyst for the Muslims' victory.
Al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam, may Allah be pleased with him, sensed that his end was near
after a long life spent championing Islam and the Muslims.
Thus, he departed from the Battle of the Camel
after 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, exhorted him,
having already entrusted his son 'Abdullah with the settlement of his debts.
He left the battlefield behind, turning his back on the civil strife,
whereupon 'Amr ibn Jarmuz pursued him
until he overtook him at Wadi al-Siba'.
There, he treacherously ambushed and assassinated him,
then seized his sword
and hurried back to bring news of his slaying to 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him.
However, 'Ali refused to grant him entry
and uttered his famous declaration:
"Give the killer of Safiyyah's son tidings of Hellfire."
The man then turned away, wandering aimlessly across the land
and leaving al-Zubayr's sword behind.
When 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, saw al-Zubayr's sword,
he took it, kissed it, and said:
"By Allah, how often has this sword dispelled distress
from the face of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him."
His martyrdom, may Allah be pleased with him, took place
in the thirty-sixth year of the Hijrah,
at which time he was sixty-seven years of age.
One of the Tabi'un related:
"I accompanied al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam, may Allah be pleased with him,
on some of his journeys,
and when he removed his upper garment,
I saw his body heavily scarred by sword wounds.
I said, 'By Allah, I have seen on your body marks
the likes of which I have never seen on anyone before.'
Al-Zubayr asked, 'Have you really noticed them?'
I replied, 'Yes.' He said:
'By Allah, there is not a single wound among them
except that it was sustained alongside the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and in the cause of Allah.'"
Indeed, the deep scars on his body
resembled hollow sockets, caused by spear thrusts and arrow strikes.
Al-Sha'bi said:
"I met five hundred or more of the Companions who used to say:
''Ali, 'Uthman, Talhah,
and al-Zubayr are in Paradise.'"
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They are Talhah,
Ibn 'Awf,
Ibn 'Awf, and al-Zubayr,
to...