Part of Glimpses from the Lives of the Female Companions (Sahabiyyat) (series completed)
· Lesson 4 of 8
Pictures from the lives of female companions - Episode (4) - Asmaa bint Abi Bakr, may God be pleased with them
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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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The Mawaddah Association is pleased
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to present to you
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"Portraits from the Lives of the Female Companions"
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by Dr. Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
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may Allah have mercy on him.
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Asma' bint Abi Bakr,
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may Allah be pleased with them both.
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This female Companion of ours encompassed glory from every side:
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her father was a Companion,
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her grandfather was a Companion,
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her sister was a female Companion,
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her husband was a Companion,
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and her son was a Companion;
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that alone suffices her in nobility and honor.
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As for her father,
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he was al-Siddiq, the intimate companion of the Noble Messenger during his lifetime,
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and his successor after his death.
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As for her grandfather,
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he was Abu Atiq, the father of Abu Bakr.
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As for her sister,
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she was the Mother of the Believers, Aisha,
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the pure and exonerated.
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As for her husband,
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he was the disciple of the Messenger of Allah,
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al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam.
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And as for her son,
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he was Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr,
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may Allah be pleased with him and with them all.
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She is, in brief,
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Asma' bint Abi Bakr al-Siddiq—and that suffices!
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Asma' was among the earliest converts to Islam,
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for no one preceded her in this immense virtue
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except seventeen people, both men and women.
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She was given the title "Dhat al-Nitaqayn" (She of the Two Girdles)
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because she prepared food for the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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and for her father on the day of their migration to Medina,
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and she prepared a waterskin for them.
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When she could find nothing with which to tie them,
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she tore her girdle into two pieces,
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binding the provision bag with one and the waterskin with the other.
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Thereupon, the Prophet, peace be upon him, prayed for her
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that Allah would replace them with two girdles for her in Paradise,
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and so she was titled "Dhat al-Nitaqayn."
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Al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam married her
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when he was a poor young man,
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having no servant to attend to his needs,
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nor wealth to provide abundantly for his household,
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except for a single horse he owned.
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She was the best of righteous wives to him:
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serving him, grooming his horse,
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tending to it, and grinding date-stones for its fodder,
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until Allah bestowed abundance upon him
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and he became one of the wealthiest of the Companions.
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When the opportunity came for her to migrate to Medina,
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fleeing with her faith to Allah and His Messenger,
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she was full-term in her pregnancy with her son Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr.
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Yet that did not prevent her from enduring the hardships of the long journey,
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and no sooner had she reached Quba' than she gave birth to her child.
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The Muslims proclaimed the greatness of Allah and rejoiced with "La ilaha illa Allah,"
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for he was the first child born to the Emigrants in Medina.
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She carried him to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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and placed him in his lap.
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The Prophet took a little of his saliva and put it into the baby's mouth,
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then performed tahnik for him and prayed for him.
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Thus, the first thing to enter his stomach was the saliva of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
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Asma' bint Abi Bakr combined such qualities of goodness,
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noble traits, and sound intellect
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as are rarely found except in a precious few men.
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She was so generous
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that her generosity became proverbial.
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Her son Abdullah narrated, saying:
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"I have never seen two women
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more generous than my maternal aunt Aisha and my mother Asma'.
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Yet their ways of giving differed:
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as for my aunt, she would gather thing upon thing,
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and once enough had accumulated, she would distribute it among the needy;
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whereas my mother would not keep anything until the morrow."
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Asma' was also deeply wise, conducting herself impeccably in critical situations.
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An example of this occurred when al-Siddiq set out on the migration accompanied by the Messenger of Allah;
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he took all his wealth with him, amounting to six thousand dirhams,
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leaving nothing behind for his family.
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When his father, Abu Quhafah, learned of his departure—
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and he was still a polytheist at the time—
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he came to his house and said to Asma':
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"By Allah, I see that he has distressed you with his wealth
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after having already distressed you by leaving himself!"
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She said to him:
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"Not at all, grandfather!
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He has left us abundant wealth."
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Then she took some pebbles
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and placed them in the niche where they used to keep their money,
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covering them with a cloth.
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Then she took her grandfather by the hand—
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and he was blind—
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and said:
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"Grandfather,
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feel how much wealth he has left for us."
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He placed his hand on it and said:
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"There is no harm then;
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if he has left you all of this, he has done well."
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By doing so, she intended to reassure the old man's heart
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and prevent him from offering her any of his own money,
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for she detested being beholden to a polytheist,
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even if he was her grandfather.
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And if history were to forget all the stances of Asma' bint Abi Bakr,
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it would never forget the soundness of her judgment, her resolute determination,
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and the strength of her faith
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when she met her son Abdullah for the very last time.
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For her son, Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr,
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had been pledged allegiance as caliph after the death of Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah,
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and the Hijaz, Egypt, Iraq,
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Khurasan, and most of the Levant had submitted to his rule.
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But the Umayyads soon dispatched a massive army to wage war against him,
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led by al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi.
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Fierce battles raged between the two sides,
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in which Ibn al-Zubayr displayed forms of heroism befitting a valiant warrior of his stature.
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However, his supporters began to desert him little by little,
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so he retreated to the Sacred House of Allah
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and took refuge, along with those remaining with him, within the sanctuary of the Venerated Ka'bah.
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A few hours before his death,
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he entered upon his mother, Asma',
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who was then an elderly woman advanced in years and blind.
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He said: "Peace be upon you, mother, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings."
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She replied: "And upon you be peace, O Abdullah.
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What brings you at this hour,
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while the stones launched by al-Hajjaj's catapults at your troops in the Sanctuary
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are violently shaking the houses of Mecca?"
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He said: "I have come to consult you."
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She asked: "To consult me about what?"
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He said: "The people have deserted me
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and turned away, either out of dread of al-Hajjaj
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or coveting what he has to offer.
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Even my own children and family have dispersed from me,
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and none remain with me except a small band of my men.
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Yet no matter how great their endurance may be,
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they cannot hold out for more than an hour or two.
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Meanwhile, the emissaries of the Umayyads are negotiating with me,
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offering to give me whatever worldly wealth I desire
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if only I lay down my arms
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and pledge allegiance to Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan.
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What do you think?"
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Her voice rose as she said:
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"The matter is yours, O Abdullah,
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and you know yourself best.
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If you believe that you are upon the truth
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and calling to the truth,
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then endure and fight valiantly, just as your companions who were killed beneath your banner endured!
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But if you only sought worldly gain,
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then what a wretched servant of Allah you are—
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you have destroyed yourself and destroyed your men!"
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He said:
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"Yet I am surely to be killed this day."
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She said:
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"That is better for you than surrendering yourself to al-Hajjaj voluntarily,
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only for the Umayyad youths to toy with your head!"
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He said:
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"I do not fear death;
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I only fear being mutilated."
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She replied:
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"There is nothing after death for a person to fear,
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for a slaughtered sheep feels no pain from being skinned!"
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His face beamed with joy, and he said:
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"May you be blessed as a mother,
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and may your noble virtues be blessed!
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For I did not come to you at this hour
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except to hear from you precisely what I have heard.
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Allah knows that I have neither faltered nor weakened,
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and He is my witness
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that I did not undertake what I did out of love for this worldly life and its adornments,
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but out of anger for the sake of Allah that His sacred boundaries should be violated.
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Here I am, proceeding toward what you desire!
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So if I am killed,
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do not grieve over me,
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and surrender your affair to Allah."
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She said:
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"I would only grieve over you if you were killed upon falsehood."
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He said:
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"Rest assured that your son never deliberately committed a vile deed,
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nor ever engaged in an immorality,
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nor ever deviated from the judgment of Allah,
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nor ever betrayed a covenant of safety,
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nor ever intentionally wronged a Muslim or a non-Muslim under covenant,
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nor was anything dearer to him than the pleasure of Allah, Glorified and Exalted.
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I do not say this to praise myself,
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for Allah knows me better than I know myself,
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but I only said it to bring comfort to your heart."
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She said:
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"Praise be to Allah Who has made you as He loves and as I love!
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Come close to me, my son,
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so that I may smell your scent and touch your body,
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for this may well be my final moment with you."
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Abdullah bent over her hands and feet, kissing them profusely,
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while she passed her face over his head, face, and neck,
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smelling him and kissing him.
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She stretched out her hands, feeling his body,
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but soon pulled them back, saying:
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"What is this you are wearing, O Abdullah?"
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He said,
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"My coat of mail."
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She replied,
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"O my son, this is not the attire of one seeking martyrdom!"
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He explained,
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"I only put it on to comfort you and put your heart at ease."
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She said,
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"Take it off!
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For that will ignite your zeal even more,
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make your charge more formidable,
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and allow you greater agility of movement.
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Instead, put on doubled lower garments,
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so that if you fall, your private parts will not be exposed."
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'Abdullah Ibn al-Zubayr took off his coat of mail,
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tightened his lower garments firmly,
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and headed toward the Sacred Sanctuary to resume fighting, calling out:
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"Do not cease praying for me, mother!"
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So she raised her hands to the heavens and prayed:
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"O Allah, have mercy on his lengthy standing in prayer and his intense weeping in the darkness of the night,
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while the people were fast asleep.
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O Allah, have mercy on his hunger and his thirst in the scorching midday heat of Medina and Mecca while fasting.
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O Allah, have mercy on his devotion and filial piety toward his father and mother.
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O Allah, I have truly surrendered him to Your command,
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and I am pleased with whatever You have decreed for him,
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so grant me for him the reward of the patient."
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The sun of that day had not yet set
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before 'Abdullah Ibn al-Zubayr had departed to the presence of his Lord.
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Barely a dozen or so days had passed after his death
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before his mother, Asma' bint Abi Bakr, also followed him.
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She had reached a hundred years of age,
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yet not a single incisor or molar of hers had fallen out,
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nor had she lost any of her mental faculties.
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Asma' lived for a hundred years,
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without losing a single front tooth or molar,
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and without suffering any decline in her intellect.
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The historians record:
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Not a single tooth had fallen from her mouth.