WEBVTT

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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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Mawaddah Association is pleased

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to present to you vignettes from the lives of the Companions,

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by 'Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,

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may Allah have mercy on him.

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'Adi ibn Hatim al-Ta'i,

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may Allah be pleased with him.

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In the ninth year of the Hijrah,

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an Arab king yielded to Islam after long aversion,

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softened to faith after turning away and resisting,

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and offered allegiance to the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, after refusal.

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That was 'Adi ibn Hatim al-Ta'i,

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whose father's legendary generosity was proverbially renowned.

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'Adi inherited leadership from his father,

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so the tribe of Tayy made him their king,

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allocated a fourth of their war spoils to him,

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and surrendered their leadership to him.

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When the noble Messenger openly proclaimed the call to guidance and truth,

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and tribe after tribe of the Arabs submitted to him,

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'Adi saw in the call of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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a leadership that threatened to extinguish his own authority,

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and a rule that would lead to the erasure of his reign.

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So he harbored against the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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the fiercest animosity, despite not even knowing him,

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and hated him with the deepest hatred before ever seeing him.

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He remained hostile toward Islam for nearly twenty years,

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until Allah opened his heart to the call of guidance and truth.

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The story of 'Adi ibn Hatim's conversion to Islam is unforgettable,

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so let us leave it to the man himself to recount his story,

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for he is the most entitled to tell it and the most fitting to narrate it.

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'Adi said, "There was no man among the Arabs who hated

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the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, more than I did

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when I first heard of him.

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I was a nobleman of high status,

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a Christian,

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and I used to rule over my people by taking the *mirba'*,

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taking a fourth of their spoils of war,

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as was the custom of other Arab kings.

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So when I heard of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

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I despised him.

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As his cause grew prominent and his strength formidable,

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with his armies and military expeditions sweeping east and west across the Arab lands,

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I said to a servant of mine who grazed my camels,

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'May you be well!

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Prepare for me several fat, manageable sheath-camels from my herd,

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and keep them tethered near me.

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If you hear that Muhammad's army or one of his raiding parties

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has stepped foot in this land,

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inform me immediately.'

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One morning,

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my servant came to me and said,

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'My master,

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whatever you intended to do

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if Muhammad's cavalry should tread upon your land,

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do it now!'

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I said,

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'May your mother be bereaved of you! What is it?'

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He said,

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'I saw banners advancing through the settlements,

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so I inquired about them,

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and I was told, "These are the armies of Muhammad."'

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I said to him,

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'Ready the camels I instructed you to prepare,

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and bring them close to me.'

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I then rose immediately,

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called my family and children to depart from the land we loved,

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and began hastening our journey toward the lands of the Levant,

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to join my fellow Christians

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and settle among them.

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However, the urgency of the matter prevented me from gathering my entire family.

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Once I crossed the dangerous areas,

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I checked on my family

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and discovered I had left a sister of mine behind in our homelands in Najd,

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along with those of Tayy who remained there.

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I had no way of returning to her,

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so I pressed on with those who were with me until I reached the Levant,

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where I resided among my coreligionists.

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As for my sister,

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what I had anticipated and feared befell her.

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News reached me while I was in the Levant

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that Muhammad's cavalry had raided our lands

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and taken my sister among the captives they seized,

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driving her to Yathrib.

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There, she was placed with the rest of the captives in an enclosure by the door of the Mosque.

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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, passed by her,

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so she stood up before him and said,

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'O Messenger of Allah,

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my father has passed away, and my protector is absent,

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so show me favor, and may Allah show favor to you.'

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He asked, 'And who is your protector?'

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She replied, ''Adi ibn Hatim.'

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He said, 'The one who fled from Allah and His Messenger?'

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Then the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, walked on and left her.

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The next day,

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he passed by her again, and she spoke to him as she had the day before,

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and he replied to her as he had previously.

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On the third day,

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he passed by her when she had lost all hope in him,

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so she said nothing.

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A man standing behind him gestured to her,

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'Stand up and speak to him.'

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So she stood up before him and said,

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'O Messenger of Allah,

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my father has passed away, and my protector is absent,

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so show me favor, and may Allah show favor to you.'

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He said, 'I have done so.'

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She said,

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'I wish to join my family in the Levant.'

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He said,

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'Do not leave in haste

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until you find someone trustworthy from your people

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to escort you safely to the Levant.

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When you find a reliable person, let me know.'

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After the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, left,

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she inquired about the man who had gestured to her to speak to him,

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and she was told,

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'That was 'Ali ibn Abi Talib,'

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may Allah's pleasure be upon him.

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She remained there until a caravan arrived containing people she trusted,

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so she came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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and said,

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'O Messenger of Allah,

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a group of my people has arrived,

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among whom are trustworthy men who can convey me safely.'

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The Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, clothed her,

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gifted her a riding camel to carry her,

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and gave her ample funds for her journey,

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so she set out with the caravan.

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'Adi continued,

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'Thereafter, we began watching for news of her,

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awaiting her arrival,

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hardly able to believe what was reported to us regarding her experience with Muhammad,

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and his utmost benevolence toward her—

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despite everything I had done against him.

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By Allah, as I was sitting among my family,

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I caught sight of a woman in her litter heading toward us.

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I said,

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"The daughter of Hatim!"

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And indeed, it was her.

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When she stopped before us,

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she immediately confronted me, saying,

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"You ruthless, unjust man!

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You evacuated your own family and children,

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while abandoning your father's remaining bloodline and defense!"

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I said,

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"O my sister,

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say nothing but good."

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I kept soothing her until she was appeased,

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and she related her story to me.

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It was exactly as the reports had reached me.

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I said to her—

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and she was a resolute, intelligent woman—

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"What is your opinion regarding this man's affair?"

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meaning Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

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She said,

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"By Allah, I advise that you join him swiftly.

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For if he is a prophet,

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those who precede others to him gain virtue;

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and if he is a king,

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you will never be humiliated in his presence, being who you are."

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'Adi said,

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'So I prepared my provisions

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and set off until I presented myself before the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in Medina,

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without any grant of immunity or written treaty.

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News had reached me that he had said,

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"I hope that Allah will place 'Adi's hand in mine."

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I entered upon him while he was in the mosque,

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and greeted him with peace.

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He asked,

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"Who is this man?"

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I replied,

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"'Adi ibn Hatim."

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He stood up for me,

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took me by the hand, and set off with me toward his house.

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By Allah, as he was walking with me toward his house,

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an elderly, frail woman met him,

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accompanied by a small child.

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She asked him to stop,

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and began speaking to him about a need of hers,

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so he stayed with them until he fulfilled their need,

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while I stood waiting.

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I said to myself,

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"By Allah, this is no conduct of a king."

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Then he took my hand and led me until we arrived at his home.

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He took a leather cushion,

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stuffed with palm-fiber,

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threw it to me,

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and said,

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"Sit on this."

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I felt embarrassed before him and said,

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"No, you sit on it."

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He said,

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"Rather, you."

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So I complied and sat upon it,

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while the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sat upon the bare ground,

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as there was no other cushion in the house.

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I said to myself,

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"By Allah, this is not how a king behaves."

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Then he turned to me and said,

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"What is holding you back, O 'Adi Ibn Hatim?

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Were you not a Rakusi—

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professing a faith between Christianity and Sabianism?"

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I replied, "Indeed, I was."

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He then said,

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"Did you not use to exact a fourth of the spoils (*mirba'*) from your people,

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taking from them that which was not lawful for you in your own religion?"

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I replied, "Indeed, I did."

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And I realized then that he was a prophet sent by Allah.

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Then he said to me,

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"Perhaps, O 'Adi,

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the only thing holding you back from entering this religion

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is the poverty and need you see among the Muslims.

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By Allah, wealth will soon overflow among them

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to the point that no one can be found to accept it.

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And perhaps, O 'Adi,

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the only thing holding you back from entering this religion

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is the small number of Muslims you see and the great number of their enemies.

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By Allah, you will soon hear of a woman

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traveling all the way from al-Qadisiyyah on her camel

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until she visits this House,

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fearing no one except Allah.

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And perhaps the only thing holding you back from entering this religion

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is that you see kingship and authority in the hands of non-Muslims.

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By Allah,

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you will soon hear that the white palaces of Babylon

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have been conquered by them,

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and that the treasures of Chosroes son of Hormizd

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have fallen into their hands."

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I asked in astonishment,

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"The treasures of Chosroes son of Hormizd?"

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He replied, "Yes,

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the treasures of Chosroes son of Hormizd."

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'Adi said,

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"At that moment, I bore the testimony of truth and embraced Islam."

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'Adi Ibn Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him) lived a long life,

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and he used to say,

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"Two of the prophecies have already been fulfilled,

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and the third remains.

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By Allah, it shall surely come to pass!

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For I have seen the woman travel from al-Qadisiyyah on her camel,

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fearing nothing until she reached this House;

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and I was among the first cavalry force that raided the treasures of Chosroes and seized them.

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And I swear by Allah, the third prophecy will surely come to pass."

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Allah willed to fulfill the words of His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),

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and the third prophecy came to pass during the reign of the ascetic, devout Caliph 'Umar Ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz,

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when wealth overflowed among the Muslims

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to the extent that he had his town crier call out

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for anyone willing to accept zakat funds meant for the poor among the Muslims,

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but he could not find a single person.

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The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) spoke the truth,

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and 'Adi Ibn Hatim fulfilled his oath.

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"You believed when they disbelieved,

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you acknowledged the truth when they denied it,

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you remained faithful when they betrayed,

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and you came forward when they turned away."

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— 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab.

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Inspire me to elaborate

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in praising them—are they not the adornment of mankind?