In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Treasures of the Prophetic biography (Seerah).
A stance of profound faith:
it remains for us to know that some believers,
such as Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him), acted with pure conviction.
His wife said to him,
"O Abu Ayyub,
have you heard what the people are saying about 'A'ishah?"
He turned to her and said,
"O Umm Ayyub,
would you ever do such a thing?"
She replied, "No, by Allah, I would never do it."
He said,
"By Allah, 'A'ishah is far better than you."
Concerning both of them, Allah Almighty revealed:
"Why, when you heard it, did not the believing men
and believing women think good of one another?"
For she is the Mother of the Believers
and the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
about whom Allah, Blessed and Exalted, said
in His Book regarding him and her:
"Good women are for good men,
and good men are for good women."
Allah chose her for the Messenger (peace be upon him).
Could she ever commit such an act?
No, by Allah, she would never do so!
After all of this,
anyone who speaks ill of 'A'ishah today,
after Allah, Blessed and Exalted, has declared her innocent,
and accuses her of adultery,
is undoubtedly a disbeliever,
outside the fold of Islam,
because he is directly denying the word of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic.
Indeed, according to the correct view among the scholars,
whoever accuses any wife
among the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him)
of adultery
is a disbeliever,
because he is rejecting the word of Allah, Blessed and Exalted.
“Vile women are for vile men, and vile men for vile women. Good women are for good men, and good men for good women; such are innocent of that which people say: For them is pardon and a bountiful provision.” (24:26)
The Messenger (peace be upon him) was shown a vision
in a dream while he was in Medina,
in which he and his Companions entered the Sacred Mosque,
performed the circumambulation (Tawaf) and the 'Umrah,
and some shaved their heads while others shortened their hair.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) then informed
his Companions of this,
and they rejoiced with immense joy,
owing to their deep longing for the House of Allah, Blessed and Exalted.
He ordered the Companions to make preparations,
and they readied themselves to set out with the Prophet (peace be upon him).
He (peace be upon him) also called upon
the Bedouin Arabs and the desert dwellers surrounding them
to march out with him,
but many of the Bedouins lagged behind.
He appointed Ibn Umm Maktum in charge of Medina,
and set forth from it, as is well known,
on a Monday
at the beginning of Dhu al-Qi'dah
in the sixth year of the Hijrah.
Among his wives, he took along
on that journey Umm Salamah.
He (peace be upon him) did not carry any weapons
except the standard weapons of a traveler,
since his departure was not for fighting;
rather, he set out solely to perform 'Umrah.
He (peace be upon him) arrived at al-Hudaybiyyah.
Al-Hudaybiyyah is located west of Mecca,
twenty-two kilometers away on the road to Jeddah.
Today its name has changed
to the al-Shumaysi area.
The scholars differed as to
whether it belongs to the non-sacred area (al-Hill) or the sacred precinct (al-Haram);
some held that it spans both the non-sacred area and the sacred precinct,
and this is the view of Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him).
Imam al-Bukhari recorded in his Sahih
from 'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr,
on the authority of al-Miswar ibn Makhramah and Marwan,
each confirming the account of the other,
that they said:
"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) set out
at the time of al-Hudaybiyyah.
When they were partway through the journey,
the Prophet (peace be upon him) said,
'Khalid ibn al-Walid is at al-Ghamim
with a vanguard of Quraysh cavalry,
so take the route to the right.'
The narrator said:
'By Allah, Khalid did not notice them
until he saw the dust raised by the army.'
The people of Mecca were startled by the dust they saw from afar,
and whoever could fled racing as a warner to Quraysh.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) proceeded
until, when he reached the mountain pass from which he would descend upon them,
his riding camel knelt down.
The people said,
'Hal, hal!'—
which is a word spoken to a camel to urge it to move—
but she refused to budge.
So they said,
'Al-Qaswa' has become stubborn!'
Al-Qaswa' was the name of the Prophet's camel,
and it was his habit to give names to his mounts,
which is a Sunnah largely forgotten by many people in our time,
namely for a person to name their mount and some of their personal possessions.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said,
'Al-Qaswa' has not become stubborn,
nor is that in her nature;
rather, she has been halted by the One Who halted the elephant.'
And the One Who halted the elephant refers to
when Abrahah intended to demolish the Ka'bah
and brought elephants with him,
headed by a huge elephant named Mahmud.
Whenever they directed it toward Mecca,
it refused and knelt down,
but whenever they turned it in any other direction,
it stood up and moved swiftly.
So the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
'Nay, al-Qaswa' has been halted by the One Who halted the elephant.'
And this was out of the mercy of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, upon this House
and the people of this sanctuary.
He said,
'By the One in Whose Hand is my soul,
they will not ask me for any plan
in which they honor the sanctities of Allah
except that I will grant it to them.'
Then he nudged her, and she sprang up, so he diverted them
until he halted at the farthest end of al-Hudaybiyyah,
at a small waterhole containing very little water,
which the people were drawing from sparingly drop by drop.
Before long, the people drained it completely,
and they complained of thirst to the Prophet (peace be upon him).
He pulled an arrow from his quiver
and ordered them to place it in the well.
By Allah, it did not cease bubbling forth with copious water for them
until all of them had quenched their thirst and departed satisfied.
This was a miraculous sign testifying to the truthfulness of the Prophet (peace be upon him)
and confirming that he was sent by the Lord of Glory, Blessed and Exalted.
While they were in that state,
Budayl ibn Warqa' al-Khuza'i arrived
with a group of his people from the tribe of Khuza'ah,
and they were the trusted confidants and sincere advisers of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
among the people of Tihamah.
Budayl ibn Warqa' said,
'I have left Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy
and 'Amir ibn Lu'ayy
camped at the abundant waters of al-Hudaybiyyah,
accompanied by milch camels with their young;
they are determined to fight you and prevent you from reaching the House.'
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) replied,
'We have not come to fight anyone;
rather, we have come only to perform 'Umrah.
War has already exhausted Quraysh and brought them great harm.
If they wish, I will grant them a truce for a period,
provided they leave me and the rest of the people alone.
If I prevail,
they may enter into what the people have entered if they wish;
otherwise, they will have spared their blood.
But if they refuse,
then by the One in Whose Hand is my soul,
I will fight them for this cause of mine
until my neck is severed,
and Allah will surely accomplish His decree.'
Budayl said,
'I shall convey to them what you say.'
So he departed until he came to Quraysh
and said, 'We have just come to you from this man,
and we heard him say something;
if you wish us to present it to you, we will do so.'
The foolish among them said,
'We have no need for you to inform us anything about him.'
But the people of sound judgment among them said,
'Tell us what you heard him say.'
He said,
'I heard him say such-and-such,'
and he related to them what the Prophet (peace be upon him) had said.
Thereupon, 'Urwah ibn Mas'ud stood up and said,
'O my people!
Are you not as a father to me?'
They said, 'Yes.'
He said,
'And am I not as a son to you?'
They said, 'Yes.'
He said,
'Do you suspect me of anything?'
They said, 'No.'
He said,
'Do you not know that I called upon the people of 'Ukaz,
and when they refused to support me—
that is, they held back from aiding me—
I came to you with my family, my children, and whoever obeyed me?'
They said, 'Yes.'
He said,
'This man has offered you a sound and sensible proposal,
so accept it and let me go to him.'
They said, 'Go to him.'
So he went to him and began speaking to the Prophet (peace be upon him),
and the Prophet (peace be upon him) told him the like of what he had told Budayl.
Thereupon, 'Urwah said,
"O Muhammad,
have you considered what will happen if you utterly destroy your own people?
Have you ever heard of any Arab who eradicated his own family before you?
But if the outcome turns against you,
then by Allah, I do not see faces of nobility here;
rather, I see a mixed rabble of people
who are apt to flee and abandon you."
Abu Bakr then said to him,
"Go suck the clitoris of al-Lat!
Would we flee and abandon him?"
Abu Bakr thus insulted 'Urwah ibn Mas'ud.
So 'Urwah ibn Mas'ud asked the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
"Who is this?"
The Prophet, peace be upon him, replied,
"This is Abu Bakr."
'Urwah said,
"By Him in Whose hand is my soul,
were it not for a favor you did me for which I have not yet repaid you, I would have answered you!"
This was because 'Urwah ibn Mas'ud owed a blood money debt before the advent of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
and Abu Bakr had helped him pay that debt.
In some narrations, 'Urwah said to him,
"This balances out that favor."
The narrator said:
'Urwah ibn Mas'ud continued speaking to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and whenever he spoke, he would touch his beard.
Meanwhile, al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah was standing at the head of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
holding a sword and wearing a helmet.
Whenever 'Urwah reached out his hand toward the beard of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
al-Mughirah struck 'Urwah's hand with the scabbard of his sword
and said to him,
"Keep your hand away from the beard of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him!"
Now 'Urwah was a highly venerated man among his people.
When the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet, peace be upon him,
they had said,
“And they say: If only this Qur'an had been revealed to some great man of the two towns?” (43:31)
referring by that to 'Urwah ibn Mas'ud.
So 'Urwah raised his head and asked,
"Who is this?"
They said to him,
"Al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah."
'Urwah said to him,
"O treacherous one!
Am I not still striving to clean up your treachery?"
For al-Mughirah had accompanied a group of people during the pre-Islamic era of ignorance,
betrayed them, killed them, and seized their wealth,
then came and accepted Islam.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, had said to him,
"As for your Islam, I accept it;
as for the wealth, I will have nothing to do with it."
Thus it is mentioned that 'Urwah ibn Mas'ud paid the money on behalf of al-Mughirah
and settled the blood money debts for him,
because 'Urwah was from Thaqif,
and al-Mughirah was also from Thaqif.
Then 'Urwah began closely observing the Companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
He said:
"By Allah, whenever the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, spat out mucus,
it fell into the palm of one of them,
and he would rub it over his face and skin.
When he commanded them, they rushed to fulfill his command.
When he performed ablution, they almost fought over the remaining water.
And when he spoke, they lowered their voices in his presence,
never gazing directly at him out of reverence for him."
It is reported from 'Amr ibn al-'As, may Allah be pleased with him,
that he said:
"Before I accepted Islam,
Muhammad was the most hated of all Allah's creation to me.
But when I embraced Islam,
by Allah, he became the most beloved of all Allah's creation to me.
By Allah, I could never look my fill at him,
out of awe for him, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
to the extent that if I were asked to describe him, I could not."
Al-Miswar said:
'Urwah then returned to his companions
and said, "O my people!
By Allah, I have visited kings;
I have visited Caesar, Chosroes, and the Negus.
By Allah, I have never seen a king whose companions revere him
the way the Companions of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, revere Muhammad.
By Allah, if he spits out mucus,
it falls into the palm of one of them,
and he rubs it over his face and skin.
When he commands them, they rush to fulfill his command.
When he performs ablution, they almost fight over the remaining water.
When they speak in his presence, they lower their voices,
and they do not gaze directly at him out of reverence for him.
These actions that 'Urwah ibn Mas'ud witnessed
from the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—
they only did so for a specific reason.
Namely, when 'Urwah ibn Mas'ud first arrived, he had claimed,
'These are a mixed rabble of people who will abandon you;
they are not true warriors and will leave you to be killed.'
So the Companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, demonstrated to him
a fraction of their profound love for the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
It was not their regular habit that whenever he spat,
they would take his mucus;
this was never reported in Medina,
except on this particular occasion.
The same applies to their fighting over his ablution water.
As for the other matters,
such as lowering the voice and refraining from gazing directly
at the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and rushing to fulfill his command—
these were observed in every place and time.
'Urwah said to his people,
"He has presented to you a reasonable proposal, so accept it."
Then a man from the tribe of Banu Kinanah,
named al-Hulays,
who was from the Ahabish confederacy,
said, "Let me go to him."
They said, "Go to him."
When he approached the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his Companions,
the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
"This is so-and-so,
and he is from a people who revere the sacrificial animals,
so drive them out for him to see."
So they were driven out before him,
and the people met him reciting the *talbiyah*.
When he saw that, he said,
"Glory be to Allah!
It is not fitting that these people be turned away from the Sacred House."
So when he returned to his companions, he said,
"I saw the sacrificial animals garlanded and marked;
I do not believe they should be turned away from the Sacred House."
This demonstrates to us that every occasion demands its appropriate response,
and that sacrificial guidance animals (*hady*) are not exclusive to the Hajj pilgrimage,
but rather even the 'Umrah pilgrimage includes a *hady*.
Garlanding (*taqlid*) refers to placing an identifying mark on the camels,
by which anyone who sees them recognizes that they are sacrificial animals
designated for Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He.
As for marking (*ish'ar*),
it consists of making a small incision in the hump so that blood emerges
and trickles down the body of the camel.
Although this might outwardly appear to cause harm to the animal,
it contains numerous benefits:
among them is that when an onlooker sees it from afar,
he recognizes that it has been designated as a sacrifice for Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He,
so no one dares to steal it;
and if it goes missing and someone finds it, he knows it is a sacrificial animal,
along with other wisdoms.
Treasures of the Prophetic biography.