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.
Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah,
may Allah be pleased with him.
"I have sworn, O my soul, that you shall descend,
descend you shall, or you shall be forced.
Why do I see you loathing Paradise?
Are you but a drop of water in a leather skin?"
This stirring poem, laden with various emotions,
marked the end of the life of the noble Companion,
Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah,
and concluded the final chapter of his biography,
a life filled with heroism,
rich in noble deeds and glories,
and radiant with the light of piety
and the splendor of worship.
Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah was,
on the day the light of Prophethood dawned upon Makkah,
a master poet among the poets of Yathrib,
and a prominent leader among the leaders of the Khazraj.
No sooner did the call of guidance and truth reach him
than Allah expanded his breast to Islam,
so he dedicated his spear and his tongue to the obedience of Allah, the Almighty,
and to the pleasure of His Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
He defended the noble Prophet, peace be upon him,
with his poetry in the greatest and most powerful defense,
and he shielded his message with his eloquence,
the most sincere and effective defense.
Thus, Allah revealed concerning him and his companions,
Hassan Ibn Thabit and Ka'b Ibn Malik,
the special exception for the believers among the poets and the righteous ones,
for He, the Almighty, said:
"And the poets—[only] the deviators follow them;
Do you not see that in every valley they roam?"
“And how they say that which they do not?” (26:226)
Then Allah, the Exalted, made an exception
for Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah and his two companions,
saying, as the Most Truthful of speakers:
"Except those who believe and do righteous deeds
and remember Allah often."
“Save those who believe and do good works, and remember Allah much, and vindicate themselves after they have been wronged. Those who do wrong will come to know by what a (great) reverse they will be overturned!” (26:227)
Is there any honor more noble,
or glory more exalted,
than for Allah to reveal verses in the Quran regarding a person,
and for the description that Allah bestowed upon him to be recited
during the hours of the night and at the ends of the day,
and for its recitation to continue until Allah inherits the earth and whoever is upon it?
Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah witnessed the Pledge of al-Aqabah,
what a noble pledge it was!
And the noble Prophet, peace be upon him, appointed him
as one of the leaders whom he placed in charge of their people,
and what an excellent leader he was, and what an excellent commander!
From the moment the youth of the Khazraj embraced Islam,
he resolved to dedicate his entire life to the obedience of Allah,
so he spent his whole life in worship and striving,
standing in prayer by night and fasting by day.
Abu al-Darda', may Allah be pleased with him, reported of him, saying:
"I saw us with the Prophet, peace be upon him, on one of his journeys
on a day of intense, scorching heat,
to the point that a man would place his hand over his head from the severity of the heat,
and there was no one among the people fasting
except the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah."
Ibn Rawahah witnessed with the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, Badr,
Uhud, the Trench, al-Hudaybiyah, and Khaybar,
and what noble days those were,
and what magnificent stances!
In the eighth year of the Hijrah,
the Messenger, peace be upon him, sent
three thousand of the Muslim soldiers
to the land of the Levant (al-Sham)
to meet the Romans and test their resolve.
He appointed his freedman Zayd Ibn Harithah as commander of the army,
and said: "If Zayd is killed or wounded,
then the commander of the army is Ja'far Ibn Abi Talib;
if Ja'far is killed or wounded,
then the commander of the army is Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah;
and if Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah is killed or wounded,
then let the Muslims choose a man from among themselves
to appoint as their leader."
When the Muslim army prepared to depart from Madinah,
the people began to bid farewell to the Muslim soldiers in general,
and specifically to the commanders whom
the noble Messenger, peace be upon him, had appointed
over the army.
When they bade farewell to Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah,
he began to weep.
They asked, "What makes you weep, O Ibn Rawahah?"
He replied, "By Allah, it is not the love of this world that makes me weep,
but I heard the Messenger, peace be upon him,
reciting a verse from the Book of Allah in which he mentions the Fire,
where He, the Almighty, says:
“There is not one of you but shall approach it. That is a fixed ordinance of thy Lord.” (19:71)
“There is not one of you but shall approach it. That is a fixed ordinance of thy Lord.” (19:71)
So I became certain of the arrival,
meaning the passing over the Fire,
but I do not know how I shall fare after that in the departure,"
meaning, how to return from it.
When the army moved out,
the Muslims said,
"May Allah accompany you, protect you, and return you to your families."
No sooner did he hear their prayer that they return to their families
than he began to recite:
"But I ask the Most Merciful for forgiveness,
and a blow with a sharp sword that sprays foam,
or a thrust by the hand of a hot-blooded warrior,
with a spear that pierces the entrails and the liver,
so that it is said when they pass by my grave,
'May Allah guide the warrior, for he has indeed been guided.'"
When the army departed from Madinah,
Ibn Rawahah had riding behind him
an orphaned youth who lived under his care,
Zayd Ibn Arqam.
The youth heard him addressing his camel, saying:
"When you have carried me and borne my baggage
for a journey of four days after the heat,
then your task is done, be at ease, and you shall be free of blame,
for I shall not return to my family behind me."
The youth began to weep at his words,
so Ibn Rawahah tapped him with his whip and said:
"What is it to you, O little one,
if Allah grants me martyrdom,
and you return on this mount of mine to Madinah?"
When the Muslims reached the land of Ma'an in Jordan,
they learned that the King of the Romans
had encamped in the Balqa' region,
not far from them,
and with him were one hundred thousand fighters from the Romans,
and with them an equal number of Arab allies
from the tribes of Lakhm, Judham,
Quda'ah, and others.
The Muslims stayed in Ma'an for two nights,
and they began to weigh their small numbers
against the vast numbers of their enemy.
They said, "We shall write to the Messenger, peace be upon him,
and inform him of the situation;
then we shall proceed according to what he commands us."
But Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah said:
"O my people,
that which you seek, you have already attained!
We do not fight people with numbers or strength;
we only fight them with this religion
with which Allah has honored us.
So march on!
It is one of the two best outcomes:
either victory or martyrdom."
The army responded to what he called them to,
and began to prepare for the encounter with the enemy.
The following day,
the three thousand set out to meet two hundred thousand.
The two armies met at the village of Mu'tah.
Leading the Muslim army was Zayd Ibn Harithah,
the bearer of the banner of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
He continued to fight until he was killed,
advancing, not retreating.
The Roman spears pierced his chest,
so Ja'far Ibn Abi Talib took the banner,
the brother of Ali, may Allah be pleased with them both,
and his equal in courage and valor.
He plunged into the battle as no one else had,
and when the battle grew fierce
and the pressure of the Romans upon the Muslims intensified,
he dismounted from his horse,
hamstrung it with his sword,
and plunged into the ranks of the Romans, reciting:
"How wonderful is Paradise and its approach,
pleasant and cool is its drink!
The Romans are Romans, whose punishment we have brought near,
disbelieving, their lineages are far removed.
Upon me, when I meet them, is to strike them."
Then he began to circle with his sword, right and left,
until his right hand was severed.
He took the banner with his left hand,
and continued to fight until his left hand was severed.
He took the banner with his chest and his upper arms,
and continued to struggle until he was killed.
At that point, Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah stepped forward
and took the banner after he had seen
the fall of his two companions at close range.
He began to address his soul, saying:
"O my soul, if you are not killed, you shall die;
this is the pool of death, you have arrived at it.
What you wished for, you have been granted;
if you do as they did, you shall be guided."
Then he looked at his two predecessors, the martyrs,
as they were drenched in their blood,
and his soul felt some trepidation at the situation,
and he hesitated for a moment.
So he spurred it on, saying:
"I have sworn, O my soul, that you shall descend.
Why do I see you loathing Paradise?
Are you but a drop of water in a leather skin?"
Then he carried the banner
and descended into the fray of battle.
Here, a cousin of his came to him with a bone
on which there was some meat,
and said to him, "Strengthen your back with this,
for you have not tasted anything for three days."
He took the bone from his hand,
However, he had barely seen the fallen Muslims
before him when he said,
"What a wretched man you are, O Ibn Rawahah!
Is all this happening while you are still eating food?"
He then cast the bone from his hand,
drew his sword, and plunged into the ranks of the Byzantines,
never turning back for anything.
He continued to fight until he fell as a martyr.
May Allah have mercy on Abdullah Ibn Rawahah.
He was true to His noble Messenger, upon him be the best of prayers and peace.
For he used to love the gatherings
that the angels boast about.
May Allah have mercy on Ibn Rawahah;
he loved the gatherings that are boasted of
by the angels.
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.