Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 43 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (58) - Salama bin Qais Al-Ashja’i, may God be pleased with him
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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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
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"Glimpses from the Lives of the Companions,"
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by 'Abd al-Rahman
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Ra'fat al-Basha,
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may Allah have mercy on him.
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Salamah ibn Qays,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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Al-Faruq spent his night—
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that very night—awake,
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patrolling the quarters of Medina
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so that the people might sleep peacefully,
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secure and at ease.
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During his rounds among the homes
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and markets,
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he was considering in his mind the men of glory,
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intending to entrust one of them
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with the banner over the army departing
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to conquer al-Ahwaz.
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Before long, he exclaimed,
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saying:
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"I have found him!"
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"Yes,
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I have found him, Allah willing!"
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When morning came upon him,
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he summoned Salamah ibn Qays
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al-Ashja'i
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and said to him:
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"I have appointed you commander over the army
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heading to al-Ahwaz.
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So march in the name of Allah,
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and fight in the cause of Allah
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against those who disbelieve in Allah.
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When you meet your enemy among the polytheists,
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invite them to Islam.
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If they accept Islam,
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they may choose either to remain in their lands
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without participating with you in fighting others,
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in which case they owe nothing except zakat
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and have no share in the spoils of war (*fay'*);
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or they may choose to fight alongside you,
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in which case they shall have the same rights as you
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and the same duties as you.
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If they refuse Islam,
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call upon them to pay the jizyah.
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If they agree, leave them be,
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protect them from their enemies,
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and do not burden them beyond their capacity.
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But if they refuse, then fight them,
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for Allah will grant you victory over them.
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If they take refuge in a fortress
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and then ask you to let them surrender under the judgment of Allah and His Messenger,
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do not grant them that,
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for you do not know what the judgment of Allah and His Messenger would be.
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And if they ask you to grant them the protection (*dhimmah*) of Allah and His Messenger,
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do not grant them the protection of Allah and His Messenger;
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rather, grant them your own protection.
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When you triumph in battle,
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do not be extravagant, do not act treacherously,
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do not mutilate, and do not kill a child."
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Salamah replied,
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"To hear and obey, O Commander of the Faithful!"
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Then 'Umar bade him a warm farewell,
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grasped his hands firmly,
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and prayed fervently for him,
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for he fully appreciated the magnitude of the task
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he had placed upon his shoulders and those of his soldiers.
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That was because al-Ahwaz was a mountainous region with rugged paths
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and fortified strongholds,
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situated between Basra and the borders of Persia,
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inhabited by a fierce people from among the Kurds.
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The Muslims had no choice but to conquer or control it
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to protect their rear from Persian attacks on Basra,
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and to prevent them from using it as a staging ground for their troops,
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which would jeopardize the safety and security of Iraq.
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Salamah ibn Qays set out at the head of his army, campaigning in the cause of Allah.
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However, no sooner had they penetrated a short distance into the land of al-Ahwaz
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than they entered into a bitter struggle with its harsh terrain.
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The army began to suffer from its crumbling mountains as they climbed,
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endure its disease-ridden swamps as they traversed the plains,
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and fight off its deadly snakes and venomous scorpions, awake or asleep.
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Yet the pure, faithful spirit of Salamah ibn Qays
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hovered with its wings over his troops,
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making hardship feel sweet and difficulties feel smooth.
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He would regularly uplift them with admonitions that stirred their souls,
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and fill their nights with the fragrance of the Qur'an,
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so that they were immersed in its light and swimming in its radiance,
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forgetting the exhaustion and toil that had touched them.
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Salamah ibn Qays obeyed the command of the Caliph of the Muslims.
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As soon as he encountered the people of al-Ahwaz, he invited them to enter the religion of Allah,
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but they turned away and recoiled.
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He then called upon them to pay the jizyah, but they refused and grew arrogant.
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Thus, nothing remained for the Muslims except to take up spearheads,
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so they mounted their steeds as fighters in the cause of Allah,
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desiring the fair reward that is with Him.
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Fierce battles broke out, burning with raging heat and scattering sparks,
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in which both sides displayed such feats of valor
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as warfare had rarely witnessed,
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except on the rarest of occasions.
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Before long, the battles culminated in a decisive victory
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for the believers fighting to elevate the Word of Allah,
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and a crushing defeat for the polytheists, the enemies of Allah.
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When the war laid down its burdens,
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Salamah ibn Qays hastened to distribute the spoils of war among his soldiers.
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Among the spoils, he found a precious piece of jewelry,
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and he wished to present it as a gift to the Commander of the Faithful.
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He said to his soldiers,
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"If this piece of jewelry were divided among you,
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it would amount to nothing for each of you.
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Would you be pleased if we send it to the Commander of the Faithful?"
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They said, "Yes."
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So he placed the jewelry in a small chest—
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that is, a small container—
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and dispatched a man from his tribe, Banu Ashja',
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saying to him:
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"Go to Medina, you and your servant,
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give the Commander of the Faithful the glad tidings of victory,
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and present him with this gift of jewelry."
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The Ashja'i man's encounter with 'Umar ibn al-Khattab
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contains a story filled with lessons and admonitions.
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Let us leave the narration to him, so that he may recount
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his story himself.
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The Ashja'i man said:
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My servant and I proceeded to Basra,
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where we bought two mounts using what Salamah ibn Qays had given us,
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and loaded our surplus provisions onto them.
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Then we set our faces toward Medina.
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When we reached it, I inquired about the Commander of the Faithful,
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and found him standing, feeding the Muslims,
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leaning on his staff as a shepherd does.
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He was going around the large serving platters,
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saying to his servant, Yarfa':
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"O Yarfa', give these people more meat!
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O Yarfa', give these people more bread!
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O Yarfa', give these people more broth!"
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When I approached him, he said, "Sit down."
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So I sat among the lowest-ranking of the people,
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and food was brought to me, so I ate.
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When the people finished their meal,
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he said, "O Yarfa', clear the platters."
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Then he walked away, and I followed him.
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When he entered his home, I asked permission to enter,
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and he granted me permission.
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There he was, sitting on a piece of haircloth,
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leaning on two leather cushions stuffed with palm fiber.
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He tossed one of them to me, so I sat upon it.
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Behind him was a curtain,
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so he turned toward the curtain and said:
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"O Mother of Kalthum, bring us our lunch!"
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I said to myself:
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"What could the lunch of the Commander of the Faithful possibly be,
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which he has reserved for himself?"
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She handed him a loaf of bread with oil,
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sprinkled with coarse, unground salt.
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He turned to me and said:
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"Eat."
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I obeyed and ate a little,
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while he ate.
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I have never seen anyone eat with better manners than him.
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Then he said, "Give us something to drink."
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They brought him a cup containing a drink made of barley gruel (*sawiq*).
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He said, "Give the man first."
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So they gave it to me,
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and I took the cup and drank a little from it,
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for my own barley meal back home was tastier and of better quality.
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Then he took it and drank from it until his thirst was quenched.
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Then he said:
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"Praise be to Allah, who has fed us and satisfied us,
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and given us drink and quenched our thirst."
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At that point, I turned to him and said:
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"I have come to you with a message, O Commander of the Faithful."
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He asked, "From where?"
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I replied, "From Salamah ibn Qays."
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He said:
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"Welcome to Salamah ibn Qays, and welcome to his messenger!
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Tell me about the Muslim army."
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I said, "It is as you would wish, O Commander of the Faithful:
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safety and victory over their enemy and the enemy of Allah."
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I gave him the glad tidings of victory
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and informed him of the army's news in full detail.
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He said, "Praise be to Allah,
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Who bestows favor out of grace and confers blessings abundantly."
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Then he asked, "Did you pass through Basra?"
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I replied, "Yes, O Commander of the Faithful."
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He asked, "How are the Muslims doing?"
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I said, "In good condition, by the grace of Allah."
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He asked, "How are the prices?"
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I said, "Their prices are the cheapest of prices."
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He asked, "And how is the meat?
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For meat is the staple of the Arabs,
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and the Arabs do not thrive without their staple."
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I said, "Meat is plentiful and abundant."
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Then he turned to the chest I had with me and asked:
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"What is this in your hand?"
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I said, "When Allah granted us victory over our enemy,
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we gathered the spoils of war.
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Salamah saw this piece of jewelry among them,
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He said to the army,
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"If this were to be distributed among you, it would amount to almost nothing for each of you.
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Would you be willing to let me send it to the Commander of the Faithful?"
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They replied, "Yes."
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"I then handed the casket over to him.
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When he opened it
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and saw the gems inside—red, yellow, and green—
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he leapt up from his seat,
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placed his hand on his hip,
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and threw the casket onto the ground,
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scattering its contents to the right and to the left.
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The women thought I intended to assassinate him,
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so they rushed toward the curtain.
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Then he turned to me and said, 'Gather it up!'
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And he said to his servant, Yarfa',
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'Beat him, and make it painful!'
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So I began gathering what had scattered from the casket
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while Yarfa' was beating me.
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Then he said,
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'Leave, unpraised—neither you nor your companion!'
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I said,
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'Then grant me a mount to carry me and my servant back to Ahvaz,
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for your servant has taken my riding camel.'
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He said,
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'O Yarfa',
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give him two riding camels from the zakat camels, for him and his servant.'
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Then he said to me,
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'When you have fulfilled your need with them
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and find someone in greater need of them than you,
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hand them over to him.'
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I said,
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'I shall do so, O Commander of the Faithful.
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Yes,
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I shall do so, Allah willing.'
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Then he turned to me and said,
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'By Allah, if the army disperses before these jewels are distributed among them,
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I will surely inflict a crushing calamity upon you and your companion!'
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So I departed immediately until I reached Salamah,
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and I said,
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'May Allah not bless what you singled me out with!
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Distribute these jewels among the army
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before a disaster befalls me and you!'
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I informed him of what had happened,
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and he did not leave his seat until he had distributed them among the men."