In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Mawaddah Association is pleased
to present to you vignettes from the lives of the Companions,
authored by 'Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
may Allah have mercy on him.
Abu Talhah al-Ansari,
may Allah be pleased with him.
Zayd ibn Sahl al-Najjari—
known by his kunyah Abu Talhah—learned
that al-Rumaysa' bint Milhan al-Najjariyyah,
known by her kunyah Umm Sulaym,
had become eligible for marriage following the death of her husband.
He flew with joy at this news.
And no wonder,
for Umm Sulaym was a noble woman, chaste, dignified,
wise, and possessed of complete virtue.
So he resolved to hasten to propose to her
before anyone else preceded him,
among those who aspired to marry women like her.
Abu Talhah was confident that Umm Sulaym
would not prefer anyone over him among her suitors.
For he was a man of complete manhood,
of prominent status,
and immense wealth.
Moreover, he was the horseman of Banu al-Najjar
and one of the recognized archers of Yathrib.
Abu Talhah set off for the house of Umm Sulaym,
and while he was on his way,
he recalled that Umm Sulaym had heard the words of
this Meccan caller,
Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr,
and had believed in Muhammad and followed his religion.
But he soon said to himself,
"What of it?
Was not her husband who died
clinging to the religion of his forefathers,
turning away from Muhammad and the call of Muhammad?"
Abu Talhah reached the home of Umm Sulaym
and asked permission to enter,
and she permitted him.
Her son Anas was present.
So he proposed marriage to her,
and she replied,
"Indeed, one like you, O Abu Talhah, is not turned away.
But I will not marry you,
for you are a disbelieving man."
Abu Talhah thought that Umm Sulaym was merely making excuses to refuse him,
and that she had preferred another man over him,
one with more wealth or a grander clan.
So he said to her,
"By Allah, this is not what prevents you from accepting me, O Umm Sulaym."
She said,
"And what prevents me then?"
He said,
"The yellow and the white—
gold and silver."
She said,
"Gold and silver?"
He said, "Yes."
She said,
"Rather, I call you to witness, O Abu Talhah,
and I call Allah and His Messenger to witness,
that if you accept Islam,
I will accept you as a husband without any gold or silver,
and I will make your Islam my dowry."
As soon as Abu Talhah heard the words of Umm Sulaym,
his mind turned to his idol,
which he had fashioned from precious wood
and designated for himself,
as the chieftains of his people used to do.
But Umm Sulaym wanted to strike the iron
while it was still hot,
so she followed up by saying,
"Do you not know, O Abu Talhah,
that your god which you worship besides Allah
grew out of the earth?"
He said, "Yes."
She said,
"Do you not feel ashamed
to worship the trunk of a tree,
having made part of it your god,
while someone else made the other part fuel for himself,
warming himself by its fire or baking his dough upon it?
Indeed, if you accept Islam, O Abu Talhah,
I will accept you as a husband,
and I desire no dowry from you other than Islam."
He said,
"And who will guide me to Islam?"
She said,
"I will guide you to it."
He said, "How?"
She said,
"You utter the word of truth:
you bear witness that there is no deity except Allah
and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah;
then you go to your house,
smash your idol, and cast it away."
Abu Talhah's face beamed with joy, and he said,
"I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah,
and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."
Then he married Umm Sulaym,
and the Muslims used to say,
"We have never heard of a dowry
more noble than the dowry of Umm Sulaym,
for she made her dowry Islam."
From that day on,
Abu Talhah rallied under the banner of Islam
and placed all his formidable capabilities in its service.
He was one of the seventy who pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) at the Pledge of 'Aqabah,
accompanied by his wife Umm Sulaym.
He was also one of the twelve leaders
appointed by the Messenger (peace be upon him) that night over the Muslims of Yathrib.
Furthermore, he participated with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in all his military expeditions,
displaying the most honorable and noble valor.
Yet the greatest of Abu Talhah's days with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
was the Day of Uhud.
Here is the account of his deeds on that day:
Abu Talhah loved the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
with a love that penetrated the core of his heart
and flowed like blood through his veins.
He could never satisfy his gaze looking at him,
nor quench his thirst listening to his sweet speech.
Whenever he sat with him, he would kneel before him
and say to him,
"May my soul be ransomed for your soul,
and my face be a shield for your face."
On the Day of Uhud,
when the Muslims fell back away from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
the polytheists closed in on him from every side:
they broke his incisor tooth,
fractured his forehead,
wounded his lip,
and caused blood to stream down his face,
to the extent that the alarmists spread the rumor that Muhammad had been killed.
Thus, the Muslims grew weaker and weaker
and turned their backs to the enemies of Allah.
At that juncture,
none stood firm with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) except a small group,
at the forefront of whom was Abu Talhah.
Abu Talhah stood before the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) like a firmly rooted mountain,
while the Prophet (peace be upon him) stood behind him, using him as a shield.
Then Abu Talhah strung his unbreakable bow
and nocked upon it his unerring arrows,
defending the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) with them,
shooting the troops of the polytheists one after another.
The Prophet (peace be upon him)
would stretch up from behind Abu Talhah to see where his arrows landed,
but Abu Talhah would gently push him back out of fear for him, saying to him,
"May my father and mother be ransomed for you! Do not look over them lest they hit you.
My throat is before your throat,
my chest is before your chest,
and may I be made your ransom!"
Whenever a man from the Muslim army passed by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
in retreat, carrying a quiver of arrows,
the Prophet would call out to him and say,
"Scatter your arrows before Abu Talhah,
and do not flee with them!"
Abu Talhah continued to defend the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
until he broke three bows
and killed as many of the polytheist soldiers as Allah willed.
Then the battle cleared,
and Allah saved His Prophet and protected him with His protection.
Just as Abu Talhah was generous with his life in the cause of Allah during times of distress,
he was even more generous with his wealth in times of giving.
For instance, he possessed an orchard of date palms and grapes,
and Yathrib knew no orchard with grander trees, sweeter fruit, or fresher water.
While Abu Talhah was praying beneath its thick shade,
his attention was caught by a singing green bird with a red beak and dyed legs,
hopping among the branches of the trees, joyful, singing, and dancing.
He was delighted by its appearance, and his mind wandered with it.
But soon he snapped back to himself, only to realize he did not remember how much he had prayed—
whether two units or three, he did not know.
As soon as he finished his prayer, he went to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
and complained to him about his soul, which had been distracted from prayer by the orchard,
its lush trees, and its singing bird.
Then he said to him, "Bear witness, O Messenger of Allah,
that I have given this orchard as charity for the sake of Allah Almighty,
so place it wherever Allah and His Messenger love."
Abu Talhah lived his life fasting and striving in the cause of Allah,
and he died likewise, fasting and striving.
It is reported of him that after the death of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
he remained fasting for nearly thirty years,
breaking his fast only on the days of Eid when fasting is prohibited.
His life extended until he became an elderly, decrepit man,
yet his old age did not prevent him from continuing to strive in the cause of Allah
and traversing the corners of the earth to elevate His word
and honor His religion.
Among such instances was that the Muslims resolved to embark on a naval expedition during the caliphate of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan,
so Abu Talhah began preparing to set out with the Muslim army.
His sons said to him,
"May Allah have mercy on you, father!
You have become an old man,
and you fought alongside the Messenger of Allah, Abu Bakr, and 'Umar.
Will you not rest and let us fight on your behalf?"
He replied, "Indeed, Allah Almighty says: ﴾Go forth, light and heavy!﴿—
old and young,
and He did not specify an age for us."
Then he insisted on setting out.
While the aged elder and his son
and while the aged elder,
Abu Talhah, was aboard the ship
alongside the Muslim army in the middle of the sea,
he fell severely ill, and passed away as a result.
So the Muslims set about searching for an island to bury him on,
but they did not find what they sought until seven days had passed,
while Abu Talhah lay shrouded among them, completely unchanged,
as if he were merely asleep.
And in the open sea,
far away from family and homeland,
distant from kinsmen and home,
Abu Talhah was buried.
And what did his distance from people matter to him,
so long as he was close to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic?
We have never known a dowry more noble than Abu Talhah's dowry to Umm Sulaym,
for her bridal gift was Islam itself.
The women of Medina—
the founders of this lofty edifice... O poetry,
aid me to lavish praise upon them; can there be any more deserving?