In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The Mawaddah Association is pleased
to present to you glimpses from the lives of the Companions,
by Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
may Allah have mercy upon him.
Maysarah ibn Masruq al-Absi, may Allah be pleased with him.
Here we are in Makkah,
three years after the mission of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, began.
And here is the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
to whom Jibril descends with the words of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic.
“So proclaim that which thou art commanded, and withdraw from the idolaters.” (15:94)
The Prophet, peace be upon him, learns
that a new phase of the call to Islam has begun,
and that he must transition from the stage of secrecy to the stage of public proclamation.
The Messenger, peace be upon him, hastened to carry out what he was commanded to do,
and began calling people to Allah openly,
after having spent three years calling them in secret.
He did not leave any of the Arab communities without approaching them,
nor any of their tribes without presenting himself to them,
asking them to shelter and protect him until he could convey the message of his Lord.
The Arab tribes would gather every year for about two months
at the markets of Ukaz, Majannah, and Dhu al-Majaz.
They would buy and sell, recite poetry in the assemblies,
boast of their noble deeds from the pulpits,
and have singing girls play music for them.
They would witness dancing and drink wine,
and when they finished their season,
they would proceed to the sacred places to perform their Hajj rituals.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
would seize the opportunity of that great season,
which brought together all the Arab tribes,
and would inquire about the tribes, one by one,
following them to their encampments, one by one,
and presenting his message to them.
He would mention to them how his own people had forsaken him,
and ask them to shelter and support him
so that he might convey the message of his Lord,
promising them Paradise in return.
Some would harm him with their tongues,
mocking and ridiculing him,
while others would harm him with their hands,
throwing stones at him,
or prodding his camel with a stick or the like,
causing it to shy away and stumble.
Others would turn him away with a degree of gentleness,
though they were few.
Despite the rejection he encountered,
he never grew weary, nor did he falter or slacken.
During one of these seasons,
the tribe of Abs had finished their trading,
then hurried to Mina to perform their Hajj,
and encamped at the first Jamrah,
near the Masjid al-Khayf.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, approached them,
riding his camel,
with his beloved Zayd ibn Harithah, may Allah be pleased with him, riding behind him.
The Banu Abs had heard of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
but had not yet seen him.
He stood before them and dismounted,
and began to bring them glad tidings and warn them of a painful punishment,
explaining to them the virtues of Islam,
and reciting to them whatever he could of the Qur'an.
He mentioned to them how the Quraysh had forsaken him,
and invited them to shelter and support him
so that he might convey the message of his Lord,
promising them Paradise.
Among the people was Maysarah ibn Masruq al-Absi.
He turned to his people and said,
"Come, O my people, let us shelter this man and support him.
By Allah, I have never heard words more radiant or more just than his."
A man from his tribe turned to him and said,
"Leave this aside, O Maysarah.
By Allah, the man's own people know him better than you do.
If there were any good in him,
they would not have cast him out and left him to offer himself to the tribes,
only to find none who would accept him."
Another interrupted him and said,
"Yes, stay away from him, O Maysarah.
By Allah, no man returns to his people with him
without returning with something worse than what the people of this season return with."
Maysarah replied,
"I swear to you by Allah,
the affair of this man will surely prevail until it reaches every corner.
So listen to my advice,
and shelter him and support him."
The Messenger, peace be upon him, felt hopeful about Maysarah,
approached him, and clung to his words.
Maysarah said to him,
"By Allah, I have never heard words better than yours before today,
nor have I been invited to a cause more just than yours.
But my people oppose me, as you see,
and a man is only as strong as his people."
About twenty years passed since that meeting of the group from Banu Abs
with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
During that time, Allah granted victory to His servant,
strengthened His soldiers,
made the affair of His Prophet, peace be upon him, manifest,
and raised his mention in the East and the West.
Makkah was conquered for him,
and the Quraysh submitted to his rule.
The waves of Arab tribes who had not yet embraced Islam
began to arrive to him from every place,
group after group,
to embrace Islam at his hands
and pledge their allegiance to hear and obey.
Among those who came to him shortly before the Farewell Pilgrimage
was Maysarah ibn Masruq al-Absi.
When he stood before him
and bore witness to the truth,
he said, "Do you recognize me, O Messenger of Allah?"
He said, "Yes,
you are the one from that encounter near al-Khayf in Mina."
Maysarah said,
"By Allah, O Messenger of Allah,
ever since I left you in that place,
I have been eager to follow you,
but Allah willed only what you see regarding the delay of my Islam.
Most of the men who were with me that day have perished.
Where are they, O Messenger of Allah?"
He, peace be upon him, said,
"Everyone among them who perished while not upon the religion of Islam
is in the Fire."
Maysarah wept and said,
"Praise be to Allah who saved me from the Fire through you, O Messenger of Allah.
Praise be to Allah who saved me from the Fire through you, O Messenger of Allah."
Then, it was not long before the noble Messenger, peace be upon him, joined the Highest Companion.
The Caliphate passed to al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him,
and the fire of the apostasy wars ignited.
Most of the Arab tribes began to say,
"We will establish the prayer,
but we will not pay the zakat."
The matter became grave for the Muslims,
their distress intensified,
and they feared for the city of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
that the apostates might attack it,
taking advantage of its lack of soldiers
due to the dispatching of Usamah ibn Zayd.
Some of them spoke to al-Siddiq and said,
"Accept the prayer from them,
and do not compel them to pay the zakat,
and leave them until faith takes root in their hearts, then they will pay it."
Al-Siddiq bristled at this suggestion like a wounded lion and said,
"By Allah, I will never differentiate between the prayer and the zakat.
By the One who sent His Prophet, peace be upon him, with the truth,
if they withheld a tether that they used to pay to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
I would fight them for it."
One day during that destructive, blind fitnah,
Maysarah ibn Masruq al-Absi set out
from the lands of his people in Najd,
in full view and hearing of the apostates,
with a large group of his people.
They drove before them the zakat of their wealth, from fat sheep to choice camels,
and carried with them various types of produce
upon which zakat is due.
They proceeded toward the land of the Hijaz,
ascending the highlands and descending the valleys.
Whenever they climbed an elevation, they would say 'Allahu Akbar',
and whenever they descended into a depression, they would say 'SubhanAllah'.
When Maysarah reached Madinah,
he entered it driving that large herd before him,
which crowded the alleys,
until he made it kneel before the public treasury of the Muslims.
The people of Madinah rejoiced with the greatest joy,
and al-Siddiq received him with delight and said to him,
"May Allah bless you and your people in your wealth,
and reward you with Paradise."
Then he entrusted them to Khalid ibn al-Walid.
From that day on,
the bonds of friendship were strengthened between Maysarah ibn Masruq al-Absi
and the Sword of Allah, Khalid ibn al-Walid.
Maysarah joined under his banner,
and went forth with him, striving in the way of Allah,
despite the fact that he was an old man, advanced in age.
In the Battle of Fahl in Jordan,
the trial became severe for the Muslims,
and the Romans were about to overcome them.
A knight emerged from the enemy camp,
full of youth,
sturdy of build, and fierce in strength,
and began calling for a challenger to duel him.
The people feared him.
Suddenly, the elderly Maysarah ibn Masruq
rose to challenge him.
Khalid turned him back and said,
"You have no strength for him,
for he is a young man in the prime of his youth,
and you are an old, aged man."
But Maysarah did not listen to his words,
and intended to proceed toward the knight.
Khalid pushed him back to the ranks,
saying,
"Did you not pledge allegiance to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
to obey?
So obey, and return to your rank."
At that moment,
a young man from the Muslim youth emerged to face the Roman knight,
and he continued to fight him until he killed him.
It was as if Allah, blessed be His wisdom,
had preserved Maysarah for that day,
He was to be the first Muslim commander to lead an army of 6,000 fighters,
entering the lands of the Byzantines as a warrior in the path of Allah,
and then returning from his expedition supported by the victory of Allah,
bringing back with him such gains in terms of Islam and spoils of war
as to exceed all estimation,
thereby paving the way for the armies of the Muslims
from his era until the time of Mehmed the Conqueror,
who later conquered Constantinople.
Maysarah ibn Masruq was the first Muslim commander to lead an army of 6,000 fighters,
and enter the lands of the Byzantines with them.