WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 00:00:15.220 --> 00:00:18.219 The Mawaddah Association is pleased 00:00:18.219 --> 00:00:22.219 to present to you portraits from the lives of the Companions. 00:00:22.219 --> 00:00:25.219 By Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha, 00:00:25.219 --> 00:00:27.260 may Allah have mercy upon him. 00:00:27.260 --> 00:00:33.179 Fayruz al-Daylami, may Allah be pleased with him. 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:54.560 When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, fell ill after returning from the Farewell Pilgrimage, 00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:57.560 and news of his illness spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula, 00:00:57.560 --> 00:01:01.560 al-Aswad al-'Ansi apostatized from Islam in Yemen, 00:01:01.560 --> 00:01:04.560 as did Musaylimah the Liar in al-Yamamah, 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:07.560 and Tulayhah al-Asadi in the lands of Banu Asad. 00:01:07.560 --> 00:01:11.560 The three liars claimed that they were prophets, 00:01:11.560 --> 00:01:17.719 each of them sent to his people just as Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah was sent to Quraysh. 00:01:17.719 --> 00:01:20.719 Al-Aswad al-'Ansi was a sorcerer and a charlatan, 00:01:20.719 --> 00:01:23.719 black-hearted and of immense wickedness, 00:01:23.719 --> 00:01:26.719 of great strength and a massive frame. 00:01:26.719 --> 00:01:30.719 Furthermore, he was eloquent, captivating minds with his rhetoric, 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:34.719 a cunning man capable of playing with the minds of the masses through his falsehoods, 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:38.719 and enticing the elite with wealth, status, and positions of power. 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:42.719 He would never appear to the people except while veiled, 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:46.719 to surround himself with an aura of mystery and awe. 00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:49.719 At that time, influence in Yemen lay with the Abna', 00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:52.719 led by Fayruz al-Daylami, 00:01:52.719 --> 00:01:55.719 a Companion of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. 00:01:55.719 --> 00:01:59.719 "The Abna'" is a name given to a group of people 00:01:59.719 --> 00:02:03.719 whose fathers were Persians who had migrated from their lands to Yemen, 00:02:03.719 --> 00:02:06.719 and whose mothers were Arabs. 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:10.039 Their leader, Badhan, at the time of the emergence of Islam, 00:02:10.039 --> 00:02:14.039 was the ruler of Yemen on behalf of Kisra, the Great King of Persia. 00:02:14.039 --> 00:02:18.039 When the truth of the Prophet and the nobility of his message became clear to him, 00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:23.039 he renounced his allegiance to Kisra and entered the religion of Allah along with his people. 00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:26.039 The Prophet confirmed him in his rule, 00:02:26.039 --> 00:02:28.039 and he remained in that position until he died 00:02:28.039 --> 00:02:31.039 shortly before the emergence of al-Aswad al-'Ansi. 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:35.039 The first to respond to the call of al-Aswad al-'Ansi 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:37.039 were his own people, the Madhhij. 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:39.039 With them, he launched an assault on Sana'a, 00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:42.039 and killed its governor, Shahr ibn Badhan, 00:02:42.039 --> 00:02:45.039 and married his wife, Azad. 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:48.039 Then he struck from Sana'a at other regions, 00:02:48.039 --> 00:02:52.039 which began to fall under his blows with astonishing speed, 00:02:52.039 --> 00:02:57.039 until the lands stretching from Hadramawt to Ta'if submitted to him, 00:02:57.039 --> 00:03:01.039 as well as those between Bahrain, al-Ahsa', and Aden. 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:05.099 Among the factors that helped al-Aswad al-'Ansi deceive the people 00:03:05.099 --> 00:03:09.099 and win them over was his boundless cunning. 00:03:09.099 --> 00:03:14.099 He claimed to his followers that he had an angel who brought him revelation, 00:03:14.099 --> 00:03:16.099 and informed him of the unseen. 00:03:16.099 --> 00:03:21.099 He would reinforce this claim through his spies, whom he had scattered everywhere 00:03:21.099 --> 00:03:25.099 to keep track of people's news, penetrate their secrets, 00:03:25.099 --> 00:03:32.099 learn their problems, and uncover the hopes and aspirations stirring in their hearts. 00:03:32.099 --> 00:03:34.099 Then they would bring this to him in secret, 00:03:34.099 --> 00:03:38.099 so he would confront every person in need with their specific need, 00:03:38.099 --> 00:03:41.099 and address every person with a problem by mentioning the problem itself. 00:03:41.099 --> 00:03:44.099 He would present to his followers such wonders and strange feats 00:03:44.099 --> 00:03:47.099 that it stunned their minds and bewildered their understanding, 00:03:47.099 --> 00:03:49.099 until his influence grew great, 00:03:49.099 --> 00:03:55.099 and his movement spread like a raging fire in dry brushwood. 00:03:55.099 --> 00:03:59.099 No sooner had the news of the apostasy of al-Aswad al-'Ansi 00:03:59.099 --> 00:04:01.099 and his assault on Yemen 00:04:01.099 --> 00:04:03.099 reached the Prophet, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, 00:04:03.099 --> 00:04:09.099 than he dispatched about ten of his Companions with letters to those he deemed righteous 00:04:09.099 --> 00:04:11.099 among the early believers in Yemen, 00:04:11.099 --> 00:04:17.100 urging them to confront this blind tribulation with faith and resolve, 00:04:18.100 --> 00:04:22.100 and commanding them to get rid of al-Aswad al-'Ansi by any means necessary. 00:04:22.100 --> 00:04:25.230 There was no one who received the Prophet's letter 00:04:25.230 --> 00:04:29.230 who did not answer his call and hasten to carry out his command. 00:04:29.230 --> 00:04:32.230 The swiftest of all to respond to his call 00:04:32.230 --> 00:04:35.230 was the hero of our story, Fayruz al-Daylami, 00:04:35.230 --> 00:04:38.300 and those with him from the Abna'. 00:04:38.300 --> 00:04:42.300 Let us leave the speech to him to narrate to us his unique and wonderful story. 00:04:42.300 --> 00:04:44.300 Fayruz said: 00:04:44.300 --> 00:04:48.300 "I and those with me from the Abna' did not doubt for a moment in the religion of Allah, 00:04:48.300 --> 00:04:52.300 nor did any of us harbor any belief in the enemy of Allah. 00:04:52.300 --> 00:04:55.300 We were waiting for the opportunity to strike at him 00:04:55.300 --> 00:04:58.300 and get rid of him by any means. 00:04:58.300 --> 00:05:02.300 When the letters of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, reached us 00:05:02.300 --> 00:05:05.300 and the early believers, 00:05:05.300 --> 00:05:07.300 we strengthened one another, 00:05:07.300 --> 00:05:10.300 and each of us began working in his own sphere. 00:05:10.300 --> 00:05:16.490 Al-Aswad al-'Ansi had become filled with arrogance and pride due to the success he had achieved, 00:05:16.490 --> 00:05:19.490 so he acted haughtily toward his army commander, Qays ibn 'Abd Yaghuth, 00:05:19.490 --> 00:05:21.490 and became tyrannical, 00:05:21.490 --> 00:05:23.490 and changed his treatment of him, 00:05:23.490 --> 00:05:27.490 until Qays no longer felt safe from his brutality. 00:05:27.490 --> 00:05:30.519 So I went to him with my cousin, Dadhwayh, 00:05:30.519 --> 00:05:34.519 and we conveyed to him the message of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, 00:05:34.519 --> 00:05:39.519 and invited him to 'eat the man before he eats him.' 00:05:39.519 --> 00:05:41.519 His heart opened to our invitation, 00:05:41.519 --> 00:05:43.519 and he revealed his secret to us, 00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:47.519 and he looked at us as if we had descended upon him from the sky. 00:05:47.519 --> 00:05:49.519 So the three of us made a pact 00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:53.519 to confront the apostate liar from within, 00:05:53.519 --> 00:05:57.519 while our other brothers confronted him from the outside. 00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:01.519 We decided to involve the cousin of Azad, 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:04.519 whom al-Aswad al-'Ansi had married 00:06:04.519 --> 00:06:07.519 after killing her husband, Shahr ibn Badhan. 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:10.649 I went to the palace of al-Aswad al-'Ansi, 00:06:10.649 --> 00:06:12.649 met with the cousin of Azad, 00:06:12.649 --> 00:06:15.649 and said to her, 'O cousin, 00:06:15.649 --> 00:06:19.649 you know the evil and harm this man has brought upon you and us. 00:06:19.649 --> 00:06:23.649 He killed your husband, disgraced the women of your people, 00:06:23.649 --> 00:06:25.649 destroyed many of their men, 00:06:25.649 --> 00:06:28.680 and seized power from their hands. 00:06:28.680 --> 00:06:31.680 This is the letter of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:33.680 to us specifically, 00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:35.680 and to the people of Yemen generally, 00:06:35.680 --> 00:06:39.680 calling upon us to put an end to this tribulation. 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:41.680 Will you help us against him?' 00:06:41.680 --> 00:06:43.680 She said, 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:45.680 'Help you with what?' 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:47.680 I said, 'To remove him.' 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:49.680 She said, 'Rather, to kill him.' 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:53.740 I said, 'By Allah, I intended nothing else, 00:06:53.740 --> 00:06:56.740 but I feared to confront you with it.' 00:06:56.740 --> 00:07:01.740 She said, 'By the One who sent Muhammad with the truth as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner, 00:07:01.740 --> 00:07:04.740 I have not doubted my religion for the blinking of an eye, 00:07:04.740 --> 00:07:09.740 and Allah has not created a man more hateful to me than this devil. 00:07:09.740 --> 00:07:12.740 By Allah, I have known him since I saw him 00:07:12.740 --> 00:07:14.740 only as a wicked sinner, 00:07:14.740 --> 00:07:17.810 who respects no right and does not refrain from any evil.' 00:07:17.810 --> 00:07:20.810 I said, 'And how can we kill him?' 00:07:20.810 --> 00:07:25.810 She said, 'He is extremely cautious for his own safety, 00:07:25.810 --> 00:07:27.810 and there is no place in the palace 00:07:27.810 --> 00:07:29.810 that is not surrounded by guards, 00:07:29.810 --> 00:07:32.810 except for this remote, abandoned room, 00:07:32.810 --> 00:07:36.810 for its back faces such-and-such a place on the wilderness. 00:07:36.810 --> 00:07:40.810 When evening comes, dig through it in the darkness of the night, 00:07:40.810 --> 00:07:43.810 and you will find inside it weapons and a lamp, 00:07:43.810 --> 00:07:46.810 and you will find me waiting for you.' 00:07:46.810 --> 00:07:48.810 Then they entered upon him and killed him. 00:07:48.810 --> 00:07:53.810 I said, 'But digging a hole in a room in a palace like this 00:07:53.810 --> 00:07:55.810 is not an easy matter, 00:07:55.810 --> 00:07:59.810 for someone might pass by us, shout, and call for the guards, 00:07:59.810 --> 00:08:01.810 and then the consequences would be dire.' 00:08:01.810 --> 00:08:04.870 She said, 'You speak the truth, 00:08:04.870 --> 00:08:06.870 and I have a suggestion for you.' 00:08:06.870 --> 00:08:08.870 I said, 'What is it?' 00:08:08.870 --> 00:08:12.870 She said, 'Tomorrow, send a man you trust disguised as a worker, 00:08:12.870 --> 00:08:15.870 and I will order him to dig the room from the inside 00:08:15.870 --> 00:08:19.870 until only a small amount remains of the hole, 00:08:19.870 --> 00:08:23.870 then you can finish it at night from the outside with minimal effort.' 00:08:23.870 --> 00:08:27.870 I said, 'What a great suggestion you have.' 00:08:27.870 --> 00:08:31.870 Then I left and informed my companions of what we had agreed upon, 00:08:31.870 --> 00:08:33.899 and they blessed it. 00:08:33.899 --> 00:08:36.899 We set out immediately to prepare for the matter, 00:08:36.899 --> 00:08:41.899 then we shared the password with the elite believers among our supporters, 00:08:41.899 --> 00:08:43.899 and called them to be ready. 00:08:43.899 --> 00:08:47.899 We set our meeting with them for the dawn of the following day. 00:08:47.899 --> 00:08:49.899 When night fell upon us, 00:08:49.899 --> 00:08:51.899 and the appointed time approached, 00:08:51.899 --> 00:08:54.899 I went with my companions to the site of the hole, 00:08:54.899 --> 00:08:56.899 and we uncovered it. 00:08:56.899 --> 00:08:58.899 We entered the room, 00:08:58.899 --> 00:09:01.899 took the weapons, and lit the lamp, 00:09:01.899 --> 00:09:04.899 and proceeded toward the private quarters of the enemy of Allah. 00:09:04.899 --> 00:09:07.899 My cousin was standing at his door, 00:09:07.899 --> 00:09:10.899 so she signaled to me, and I entered upon him. 00:09:10.899 --> 00:09:13.899 He was asleep, snoring in his sleep, 00:09:13.899 --> 00:09:15.899 so I struck his neck with the blade. 00:09:15.899 --> 00:09:17.899 He let out a sound like the bellowing of a bull, 00:09:17.899 --> 00:09:21.899 and the sound of a slaughtered camel. 00:09:21.899 --> 00:09:23.899 When the guards heard his bellowing, 00:09:23.899 --> 00:09:25.899 they came to the quarters and said, 00:09:25.899 --> 00:09:27.899 'What is this?' 00:09:27.899 --> 00:09:29.899 My cousin said to them, 00:09:29.899 --> 00:09:31.899 'Go away in peace, 00:09:31.899 --> 00:09:33.899 for the Prophet of Allah is receiving revelation.' 00:09:33.899 --> 00:09:36.059 So they left. 00:09:36.059 --> 00:09:39.059 We remained in the palace until dawn broke, 00:09:39.059 --> 00:09:42.059 then I stood on one of its walls and called out, 00:09:42.059 --> 00:09:44.059 'Allah is the Greatest, 00:09:44.059 --> 00:09:46.059 Allah is the Greatest.' 00:09:46.059 --> 00:09:48.059 I continued the call to prayer until I said, 00:09:48.059 --> 00:09:52.059 'I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, 00:09:52.059 --> 00:09:55.059 I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, 00:09:55.059 --> 00:09:58.059 and I bear witness that al-Aswad al-'Ansi is a liar.' 00:09:58.059 --> 00:10:01.100 This was the password. 00:10:01.100 --> 00:10:04.100 The Muslims rushed to the palace from every side, 00:10:04.100 --> 00:10:07.100 and the guards were terrified when they heard the call to prayer. 00:10:07.100 --> 00:10:11.100 The two parties clashed with one another, 00:10:11.100 --> 00:10:13.100 and I threw the head of al-Aswad to them 00:10:13.100 --> 00:10:15.129 from over the palace walls. 00:10:15.129 --> 00:10:17.129 When his supporters saw it, 00:10:17.129 --> 00:10:19.129 they became weak and their spirit was broken. 00:10:19.129 --> 00:10:21.129 And when the believers saw it, 00:10:21.129 --> 00:10:23.129 they shouted 'Allahu Akbar' and charged at their enemy. 00:10:23.129 --> 00:10:26.129 The matter was settled before sunrise. 00:10:26.129 --> 00:10:28.320 When the day broke, 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:32.320 we sent a letter to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, 00:10:32.320 --> 00:10:35.320 bringing him the good news of the death of the enemy of Allah. 00:10:35.320 --> 00:10:38.379 When the messengers reached Medina, 00:10:38.379 --> 00:10:41.379 they found the Prophet, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, 00:10:41.379 --> 00:10:44.379 had passed away that very night. 00:10:44.379 --> 00:10:46.379 However, they soon learned 00:10:46.379 --> 00:10:49.379 that the revelation had informed him of the killing of al-Aswad al-'Ansi 00:10:49.379 --> 00:10:52.379 on the very night he was killed. 00:10:52.379 --> 00:10:55.379 For the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had said to his Companions, 00:10:55.379 --> 00:10:58.379 'Al-Aswad al-'Ansi was killed last night; 00:10:58.379 --> 00:11:00.379 He was killed by a blessed man, 00:11:00.379 --> 00:11:02.379 from a blessed household. 00:11:02.379 --> 00:11:04.379 It was said to him, 00:11:04.379 --> 00:11:06.379 "Who is he, O Messenger of Allah?" 00:11:06.379 --> 00:11:08.379 He replied, "Fairuz." 00:11:08.379 --> 00:11:10.379 "Fairuz has succeeded." 00:11:10.379 --> 00:11:14.879 Fairuz, 00:11:14.879 --> 00:11:16.879 a blessed man, 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:18.879 from a blessed household. 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:21.039 Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. 00:11:25.679 --> 00:11:27.679 O poetry, compose a tribute to them, 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:29.679 and let the virtuous be praised, 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:31.679 for in their praise, is there any greater merit?