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 on him.
Abu al-'As ibn al-Rabi',
may Allah be pleased with him.
Abu al-'As ibn al-Rabi'
al-'Abshami al-Qurashi was
a young man in the prime of his youth,
resplendent in grace,
striking in appearance and presence.
Affluence cast its gentle shade over him,
and noble lineage wrapped him in its mantle,
so he became a quintessential exemplar of Arab chivalry,
possessing all its noble traits:
dignity, pride,
signs of chivalry, loyalty,
and the cherished virtues of honoring
the heritage of his fathers and grandfathers.
Abu al-'As inherited
the love of trade from Quraysh,
the people of the two seasonal caravans:
the winter caravan and the summer caravan.
Thus his transport beasts were
constantly going
and returning between Mecca and the Levant.
His caravan would comprise
a hundred camels
and two hundred men.
People would entrust
him with their wealth to trade
on their behalf alongside his own capital,
having tested his consummate skill,
honesty, and trustworthiness.
His maternal aunt, Khadijah
bint Khuwaylid, the wife of
Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah,
regarded him with the affection
of a mother for her son,
and reserved for him in her heart and home
an esteemed place
where he was always welcomed with warmth and love.
Nor was the love of Muhammad
ibn 'Abdullah for Abu al-'As
any less than
Khadijah's love for him.
The years passed
swiftly and fleetly over the household
of Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah.
Zaynab, the eldest of his daughters, grew up
and blossomed just as
a fragrant, sweet-scented
flower unfolds its splendid beauty.
The aspirations of the noble youth
and the sons of the eminent chieftains
among the nobility of Mecca turned toward her.
And how could they not,
when she was among the purest daughters of Quraysh
in ancestral honor and lineage,
the noblest in mother and father,
and the most refined in character and deportment?
But
how could they ever win her,
when standing ahead of them all was
her maternal cousin, Abu al-'As
ibn al-Rabi', the pride of Mecca's youth?
Not many years had passed
following the marriage of Zaynab bint Muhammad
to Abu al-'As—only a few
numbered years—when
the valleys of Mecca were illuminated
with the most radiant divine light.
Allah sent His Prophet Muhammad
with the religion of guidance and truth,
and commanded him to warn
his nearest kinsfolk.
The first to believe in him
among women was his wife,
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid,
and his daughters Zaynab, Ruqayyah,
Umm Kulthum,
and Fatimah, even though
Fatimah was very young
at that time. However,
his son-in-law, Abu al-'As,
disliked abandoning the religion of his fathers
and grandfathers, and refused
to embrace what his wife Zaynab had embraced,
despite the fact
that he held her in the purest,
most sincere love, and gave her
unblemished devotion.
When the conflict intensified between
the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
and Quraysh,
they said to one another,
"You have relieved
Muhammad of his burdens
by marrying your young men to his daughters.
If you were to send them back
to him, he would be too preoccupied with them to bother with you."
So they said, "What an excellent
idea you have proposed!"
They went to Abu al-'As
and said to him, "Separate from
your wife, Abu al-'As,
and return her to her father's house,
and we will marry you to
whichever woman you desire from the noblest
and most distinguished ladies of Quraysh."
He replied, "No, by Allah!
I will never separate from
my companion, and I would not exchange her
for all the women of the world
combined." As for
his daughters Ruqayyah and Umm
Kulthum, they were divorced
and brought back to his house.
The Messenger (peace be upon him) was pleased with their return
to him, and wished
that Abu al-'As
had done as his two companions had done;
however, he had
no authority to compel him,
and the prohibition of a believing woman marrying
a polytheist
had not yet been legislated.
When the Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) migrated
to Medina,
and his cause grew strong there,
Quraysh marched out to fight him at Badr.
Abu al-'As was compelled
to go out with them reluctantly,
for he had no desire
to fight the Muslims,
nor any wish to harm them.
Yet his standing among his people
forced him to go along with them
against his will.
The Battle of Badr concluded with a crushing
defeat for Quraysh,
which humbled the pride of polytheism
and broke the backs of its tyrants.
One group was killed,
another was captured,
and another was saved only by flight.
Among the ranks of the captives was
Abu al-'As,
the husband of Zaynab bint Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
The Prophet (peace be upon him) imposed
on the captives
a ransom to redeem themselves
from captivity,
setting it between
one thousand and four thousand dirhams,
according to the captive's social standing
and wealth.
Envoys began traveling back and forth
between Mecca and Medina,
carrying the funds to ransom
their captives.
Zaynab sent her emissary
to Medina carrying the ransom of
her husband, Abu al-'As: a necklace
that her mother, Khadijah bint Khuwaylid,
had gifted to her
on the day of her wedding to him.
When the Messenger saw the necklace,
his noble face was overcome by
a sheer veil
of deep sorrow,
and he was moved with profound tenderness for his daughter.
Then he turned to his companions
and said,
"Zaynab has sent this property
to ransom Abu al-'As;
if you see fit to release
her captive for her and return
her property to her, then do so."
They said, "Yes,
most gladly and willingly, O Messenger of Allah!"
However, the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
made it a condition upon Abu al-'As before
setting him free
that he send his daughter Zaynab to him
without delay.
No sooner had Abu al-'As reached Mecca
than he hastened to fulfill
his pledge.
He instructed his wife to prepare for the journey
and informed her that the emissaries of her father
were waiting for her not far
from Mecca.
He prepared her provisions and mount for her,
He charged his brother, 'Amr ibn al-Rabi',
to accompany her
and hand her over to her escorts,
hand to hand.
'Amr ibn al-Rabi' slung his bow over his shoulder
and carried his quiver.
He placed Zaynab in her litter
and set out with her from Mecca openly
in broad daylight, right before the eyes of Quraysh.
The people were agitated
and surged in commotion,
until they overtook the two of them not far away.
They terrified Zaynab
and alarmed her.
At that moment,
'Amr readied his bow
and scattered his quiver before him,
saying, "By Allah, no man shall approach
her except that I will
drive an arrow into his throat!"
He was an archer who never missed a
shot.
Thereupon, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb approached him,
having caught up with the crowd,
and said to him, "O son of my brother,
withhold your arrows from us so that we may speak to you."
So he held back from them,
and Abu Sufyan said to him,
"You have not acted wisely in what you did.
You took Zaynab out
publicly before the eyes of the people,
while our eyes were watching.
Yet all the Arabs know
of our setback at Badr
and what befell us at the hands of
her father, Muhammad.
If you leave openly with his daughter
as you have done,
the tribes will accuse us of cowardice
and describe us as humiliated and disgraced.
So take her back
and keep her in her husband's house
for a few days,
until the people talk about us having
turned her back.
Then slip her out secretly from among us
and send her to join her father,
for we have no need to keep her from him."
'Amr agreed to that
and brought Zaynab back to Mecca.
Shortly thereafter,
he took her out by night,
after a few days,
and handed her over to her father's emissaries
hand to hand,
just as his brother had instructed him.
Abu al-'As remained in Mecca
for a time after parting from his wife,
until shortly before the Conquest
of Mecca,
when he set out for the Levant on a trading journey of his.
When he was returning to Mecca,
accompanied by his caravan
which numbered one hundred camels,
and his men who exceeded
one hundred and seventy,
a raid unit crossed his path—
one of the raid units of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—
near Medina.
They seized the caravan
and took the men captive,
but Abu al-'As escaped from them
and they could not capture him.
When night fell,
Abu al-'As took cover
under the mantle of darkness
and entered Medina fearful and vigilant.
He went on until
he reached Zaynab
and sought her protection,
so she granted him protection.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, stood up
for the Dawn prayer,
aligned himself standing in the prayer niche,
and pronounced the opening Takbir.
The people pronounced Takbir following his Takbir,
whereupon Zaynab called out from the row
of women, saying:
"O people!
I am Zaynab, daughter of Muhammad,
and I have granted protection to Abu al-'As,
so grant him protection!"
When the Prophet concluded the prayer with taslim,
he turned to the people and said,
"Did you hear what I heard?"
They replied, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah."
He said,
"By Him in Whose hand is my soul,
I knew nothing of this
until I heard what you heard.
Indeed, the lowest in status among the Muslims
may grant protection binding on them all."
Then he departed to his home
and said to his daughter,
"Treat Abu al-'As hospitably,
but know that you are not lawful for him."
Then he summoned the men of the raid unit
that had seized the caravan
and taken the men captive, and said:
"This man is connected to us
as you well know,
and you have taken his property.
If you act charitably and return to him
what belongs to him, that would be pleasing to us.
But if you refuse,
then it is Allah's spoils of war
which He has bestowed upon you,
and you have the most right to it."
They said, "Rather, we will return
his property to him, O Messenger of Allah."
When he came to take it,
they said to him, "O Abu al-'As,
you hold a noble standing
among Quraysh,
and you are the cousin of the Messenger of Allah and his son-in-law.
Will you not embrace Islam?
We will relinquish to you
all of this wealth,
so you may enjoy all the wealth you have of
the people of Mecca and remain with us
in Medina."
He replied, "How wretched is that to which you invite me—
that I should begin my new religion
with treachery!"
Abu al-'As proceeded with the caravan
and everything on it to Mecca.
When he reached it,
he said,
"O people of Quraysh!
Does anyone among you have any wealth remaining
with me that he has not reclaimed?"
They said, "No,
and may Allah reward you with good on our behalf,
for we have found you faithful to your trust and generous."
He said,
"Now that I have fulfilled to you
your rights, I
bear witness that there is no god but Allah,
and that Muhammad is
the Messenger of Allah.
By Allah, nothing prevented me from accepting Islam
with Muhammad in Medina
except my fear that you would think I
only intended to misappropriate your wealth.
So when Allah delivered it
to you and my obligation
was cleared of it, I embraced Islam."
Then he set out until he came
to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
The Prophet received him
warmly and reunited him with his wife.
And he used to say of him,
"He spoke to me and proved truthful,
and he made me a promise and fulfilled it."
[Inaudible poetic verse segment]
[Inaudible poetic verse segment]