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.
'Asim ibn Thabit,
may Allah be pleased with him.
Quraysh set out with their whole force, young and old,
their nobles and their slaves, to confront Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah at Uhud.
Malice filled their breasts to the brim,
and the desire for revenge for those slain at Badr raged like a fire in their blood.
Even this was not enough for them;
rather, they brought along the noblewomen of Quraysh as well,
to incite the men to fight,
ignite zeal in the hearts of the warriors,
and bolster their resolve whenever they wavered or showed weakness.
Among those who went out with them were
Hind bint 'Utbah, wife of Abu Sufyan;
Raytah bint Munabbih,
wife of 'Amr ibn al-'As;
and Sulafah bint Sa'd,
accompanied by her husband Talhah and her three sons:
Musafi', al-Julas, and Kilab;
alongside many other women.
When the two forces met at Uhud
and the fires of war began to rage,
Hind bint 'Utbah and the women with her stood up
and took their positions behind the ranks.
Holding tambourines in their hands,
they beat them while chanting:
"If you advance, we embrace you,
and spread out soft cushions;
but if you retreat, we depart—
a departure without love."
Their chant ignited zeal in the breasts of the knights
and worked like magic on the souls of their husbands.
Then the battle drew to a close,
and victory was decreed for Quraysh over the Muslims.
The women stood up,
inflamed by the fervor of victory,
and began roaming through the battlefield ululating,
committing the most horrific mutilations upon the slain.
They ripped open bellies,
gouged out eyes,
and cut off ears and noses.
Indeed, one of them was not satisfied in her rage
until she fashioned necklaces and anklets from those noses and ears,
adorning herself with them
in revenge for her father, brother, and uncle who had been killed at Badr.
But Sulafah bint Sa'd
was in a very different state from her fellow Qurayshi women.
She was anxious and distressed,
waiting for her husband or one of her three sons to come to her,
so she could learn their news
and share in the joy of victory with the other women.
However, her long wait proved to be in vain.
She ventured deep into the battlefield
and began searching among the faces of the slain,
only to find her husband struck down, drenched in his own blood.
She bolted like a panicked lioness
and began casting her gaze in every direction, searching for her sons:
Musafi', Kilab, and al-Julas.
It was not long before she saw them laid out on the slopes of Uhud.
As for Musafi' and Kilab,
they had already passed away.
As for al-Julas,
she found him with a faint spark of life still remaining.
Sulafah bent over her son as he suffered the agonies of death,
placed his head in her lap,
and began wiping the blood from his forehead and mouth,
her tears dried up in her eyes from the horror of the tragedy.
Then she turned to him, saying:
"Who struck you down, my son?"
He tried to answer her,
but the death rattle prevented him.
She persisted in asking him,
so he said:
"'Asim ibn Thabit struck me down,
and he struck down my brother Musafi'."
Then he drew his last breath.
Sulafah bint Sa'd went mad with grief.
She began to wail and sob,
and swore by Allah and al-'Uzza
that her anguish would not subside,
nor would a tear dry from her eyes,
unless Quraysh took revenge for her against 'Asim ibn Thabit,
and gave her the skull of his head so she could drink wine from it.
She then pledged to whoever captured him,
or killed him and brought her his head,
to give him whatever precious wealth he desired.
News of her vow spread throughout Quraysh,
and every young man among the youth of Mecca
wished that he might overcome 'Asim ibn Thabit
and present his head to Sulafah,
in hopes of winning her prize.
The Muslims returned to Medina after Uhud,
and began reminiscing about the battle and what had transpired,
asking Allah's mercy for the heroes who were martyred
and commending the brave warriors who fought valiantly.
Among those they mentioned was 'Asim ibn Thabit,
expressing wonder at how he happened to slay three brothers from a single household
among those he had brought down.
One of them said:
"Is there any wonder in that?
Do you not remember the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
when he asked us shortly before Badr, 'How do you fight?'
'Asim ibn Thabit stood up before him,
took his bow in his hand, and said:
'When the enemy is close to me—within a hundred cubits—
the engagement is by shooting arrows.
When they draw closer so that spears can reach us,
there is thrusting until the spears break.
When the spears break,
we set them aside and draw our swords,
and then comes hand-to-hand combat.'
Upon this, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
'This is how war is fought.
Whoever fights, let him fight as 'Asim fights.'"
Not long after Uhud,
the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, dispatched
six noble Companions
on an expedition,
appointing 'Asim ibn Thabit as their commander.
The noble group set out to carry out what the Prophet, peace be upon him, had commanded them.
While they were on the way, not far from Mecca,
a group from the tribe of Hudhayl learned of their presence.
They rushed toward them swiftly
and surrounded them like a collar around a neck.
'Asim and those with him drew their swords,
intending to engage those who had surrounded them.
The men of Hudhayl said to them:
"You are no match for us,
and by Allah, we intend you no harm
if you surrender to us.
You have Allah's covenant and pledge to that effect."
The Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, began
looking at one another,
as if consulting on what to do.
'Asim turned to his companions and said:
"As for me, I will never descend under the protection of a polytheist."
Then he remembered the vow that Sulafah had made,
drew his sword, and prayed:
"O Allah, I have protected and defended Your religion,
so protect my flesh and bones,
and do not let any of the enemies of Allah violate them."
He then charged at the men of Hudhayl,
followed by two of his companions,
and they continued fighting
until they were slain one after another.
As for the rest of his companions,
they surrendered to their captors,
who shortly thereafter betrayed them in the most treacherous manner.
At first, the men of Hudhayl
did not know that 'Asim ibn Thabit
was among those they had killed.
But when they realized who he was,
they rejoiced exceedingly
and entertained hopes of a lavish reward.
And no wonder—
had not Sulafah bint Sa'd
pledged that if she captured
'Asim ibn Thabit,
she would drink wine from his skull?
Had she not promised whoever brought him to her,
dead or alive,
whatever wealth he desired?
Only a few hours
had passed since the death of 'Asim ibn Thabit
when Quraysh learned of his killing,
for Hudhayl were encamped
near Mecca.
The leaders of Quraysh dispatched
an envoy from among them to 'Asim's killers,
asking them for his head
to slake the vengeful thirst of Sulafah bint Sa'd,
fulfill her oath,
and alleviate some of her grief
over her three sons
whom 'Asim had slain with his own hand.
They entrusted the messenger with vast wealth,
instructing him to offer it generously to Hudhayl
in exchange for 'Asim's head.
The men of Hudhayl went to the body of 'Asim ibn Thabit
to sever his head from his body,
but they were startled by swarms of bees
and clusters of hornets that settled upon him
and surrounded him from every side.
Whenever they attempted to approach his corpse,
the insects flew into their faces
and stung them on their eyes, foreheads,
and every part of their bodies,
driving them away from him.
When they despaired of reaching him
after trying time and time again,
some of them said to one another:
"Leave him until night falls upon him,
for when darkness descends, the hornets
will leave him and grant you access to him."
Then they sat waiting not far away.
But no sooner had the day passed and the night drawn near
than the sky became overcast with dark, thick clouds.
Thunder roared and the storm raged,
and torrential rain poured down incessantly,
the likes of which the oldest elders had never witnessed
since they first lived upon that land.
Soon the mountain passes overflowed,
the flatlands filled, and the valleys were submerged.
A flood swept through the region like the legendary flood of the dam.
When morning dawned,
the tribe of Hudhayl set out searching everywhere for the body of 'Asim,
yet they could find no trace of him.
This was because the flood had carried him far, far away,
taking him to a place unknown to them.
Thus, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, answered
the supplication of 'Asim Ibn Thabit.
He protected his pure body from being mutilated
and safeguarded his noble head from having wine drunk out of its skull,
leaving the polytheists no way to triumph over the believer.
"Whoever fights, let him fight as 'Asim Ibn Thabit fought."
Muhammad Ibn 'Abdullah.