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.
Abu Basir 'Utbah ibn Usayd, may Allah be pleased with him.
In the sixth year of the Hijrah,
the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, set out from Medina
with fifteen hundred of his Companions,
turning their faces toward the Sacred Mosque,
intending to perform the Umrah.
No sooner did the Quraysh learn of them
than they resolved to prevent them from entering Mecca,
no matter the cost.
However, they preferred that this be achieved through a peace treaty,
if a path to peace could be found.
When the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, reached
the area of al-Hudaybiyah,
a day's journey from Mecca,
and pitched his camp there,
envoys began to go back and forth between him and the Quraysh.
The negotiations and back-and-forth between the two parties dragged on
until Suhayl ibn 'Amr came
as an ambassador for the polytheists.
He made peace with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
on the condition that he return to Medina
and postpone his Umrah until the following year,
provided that he enter Mecca without weapons,
and that he and those with him leave after three days,
and that there be a peace treaty between the Muslims and the Quraysh
lasting for ten years,
during which peace would prevail between the two parties.
This weighed heavily upon the Muslims,
and it was difficult for them that the polytheists should prevent them
from the Sacred House of Allah in this manner,
and that they should conclude this treaty with the Quraysh.
What made the matter even more painful for the hearts of the noble Companions
was that Suhayl ibn 'Amr stipulated to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
that whoever came to the Muslims from the Quraysh as a believer,
whether man or woman,
the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would return them to the Quraysh,
while whoever came to the Quraysh from the Muslims,
having apostatized from Islam,
they would not return to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
This provoked the indignation of Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him,
so he rushed to the Truthful One (Abu Bakr) and said,
"O Abu Bakr!"
He replied, "Yes."
He said, "Is he not the Messenger of Allah?"
He replied, "Yes."
He said, "Are we not Muslims?"
He replied, "Yes."
He said, "Are they not polytheists?"
He replied, "Yes."
He said, "Then why should we accept humiliation in our religion?"
Abu Bakr replied firmly,
"Adhere to the command of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, O Umar,
for I bear witness that he is the Messenger of Allah."
Umar said,
"And I bear witness that he is the Messenger of Allah."
Then Umar went to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and said,
"O Prophet of Allah,
are you not the Messenger of Allah?"
He replied, "Yes."
He said, "Are we not Muslims?"
He replied, "Yes."
He said, "Are they not polytheists?"
He replied, "Yes."
He said, "Then why should we accept humiliation in our religion?"
He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, replied,
"I am the servant of Allah and His Messenger;
I will not disobey His command,
and Allah will never abandon me."
Umar said,
"I continued thereafter to give charity, fast,
pray, and free slaves,
fearing the words I had spoken that day,
until I hoped that Allah had forgiven me."
When the treaty was signed between the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the Quraysh,
the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, returned to Medina.
But he had barely settled there for a short while
when his covenant and pledges, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
were put to a harsh test because of Abu Basir,
'Utbah ibn Usayd,
the hero of this story of ours.
So let us leave the narration to him,
to tell his exciting story.
Abu Basir said,
"I was a man among the oppressed believers,
for I had no tribe in Mecca to protect me,
nor men to grant me sanctuary.
The Quraysh had poured upon me the lash of their torment
because of my departure from their religion
and my rejection of their idols.
When the Muslims began to migrate to Medina,
the Quraysh imprisoned me,
and did not allow me to migrate with the emigrants.
They left me to turn on a fire fueled by their rage and hatred.
So whenever the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, defeated them
in a battle or expedition,
they would take their revenge on me and my brothers among the oppressed,
whom they had imprisoned, with the most severe vengeance.
Then, an opportunity arose due to the negligence of the Quraysh,
and I seized it,
and fled with my religion to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
while I knew little of the details of the Treaty of al-Hudaybiyah."
Abu Basir said,
"I set out, quickening my pace toward Medina,
longing to meet the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and driven by the yearning to live with the Muslims.
No sooner had my feet touched Medina,
and my eyes been cooled by the sight of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
than the Quraysh sent a letter to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
with a man from Banu 'Amir
and a client of theirs,
requesting the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
to return me to them,
in accordance with the terms of the peace treaty."
Abu Basir said,
"I did not expect that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would command me
to return to the affliction I had been in,
and to return to the captivity of the Quraysh,
after I had saved myself and my religion.
But the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
turned to me and said,
'O Abu Basir,
we have given these people the pledge you know of,
and treachery is not permitted in our religion.
Allah will surely grant you and those with you among the oppressed relief and a way out.'
'Go back to your people.'
I said, 'O Messenger of Allah,
will you return me to the polytheists
so they may persecute me in my religion?'
He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
'O Abu Basir,
go,
for Allah the Almighty
will grant you and those with you among the oppressed relief and a way out.'"
Abu Basir said,
"So I set out with the two men,
until we reached Dhu al-Hulayfah,
seven miles from Medina.
We sat down to get some rest.
I said to the Qurayshi,
'Is this sword of yours sharp, O brother of Banu 'Amir?'
He said, 'Yes.'
And he began to tell me about it, saying this and that.
I expressed my admiration for it.
When he saw me admiring the sword so much,
he said,
'Look at it if you wish.'
When the sword was in my hand,
I said to myself,
'A polytheist is leading me to the polytheists
to persecute me for my religion
and make me taste the worst of torments.
By Allah, I will not submit to him nor go with him.
The responsibility of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has been fulfilled
when he handed me over to him.
So what is it to me if I kill him?'
Then I drew the sword from its scabbard,
struck his head with it, and killed him.
When the client who was with him saw his death,
he fled,
and I did not pursue him,
and he went to Medina,
until he came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
while he was sitting in the mosque.
When the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, saw him approaching,
he said,
'This man is terrified;
he has been struck by fear.'
When he reached the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
he said to him,
'Woe to you,
what is the matter with you?'
He said,
'Your companion killed my companion.'
Abu Basir said,
"By Allah, the man had not left his place
before I appeared before the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
wearing the sword with which I had killed the Qurayshi,
and I said,
'O Messenger of Allah,
your responsibility has been fulfilled,
and Allah has acquitted you.'
He said, 'How so?'
I said,
'You fulfilled your covenant
and handed me over to the people, hand to hand.
Then I defended myself against them,
and saved my religion,
fearing that they would persecute me or toy with me.'
The Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, turned
to those with him and said,
'Woe to his mother, he is a fuel for war!
If only he had men with him.'
This statement of his made a deep impression on me."
Then Abu Basir added, saying:
It was not within the Messenger of Allah's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) power
to keep me with him,
in fulfillment of his covenant.
And it was not within my power to return to Quraysh
after I had killed their companion.
So I proceeded until I reached Al-'Ays, by the sea,
on the route that Quraysh used for their trade with Sham.
And I stayed there.
Then it was not long before the Muslims detained
in Mecca heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say about me:
"Woe to his mother, a firebrand of war!
If only he had men with him!"
So they began to come out to me, one after another,
until we numbered about seventy men.
And the first of these to come out to me was
Abu Jandal, son of Suhail ibn 'Amr.
So we began to intercept the trade route of Quraysh,
and we would not capture anyone from them except we killed them.
And no caravan would pass by us except we seized it.
And our strength grew,
and our might increased.
And we became a thorn in the throat of Quraysh,
disturbing their peace,
and sowing terror among their caravans,
until they were utterly exasperated with us.
And their stratagems in our matter were exhausted.
So they wrote to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
imploring him by their kinship ties to call us to him,
and declaring to him that they had rescinded their condition concerning us.
Abu Jandal, the companion of Abu Basir, said:
And while we were in that state,
the letter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) reached us,
inviting us to come to him.
And at that time, my brother Abu Basir
was critically ill.
So I gave him the letter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
He raised it to his lips and kissed it,
then his soul departed while he was saying:
"Convey my greetings to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)."
So we buried him there.
And we joined the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
May Allah be pleased with Abu Basir, the firebrand of war.
For he lived tormented in the cause of Allah,
and died displaced in the cause of Allah as well.
"Woe to his mother, a firebrand of war!
If only he had men with him!"
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.