Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 62 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (77) - Abdullah bin Al-Zubair, 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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The Mawaddah Association is pleased
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to present to you glimpses 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 upon him.
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Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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She reached the outskirts of Yathrib—the one with the two belts,
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Asma bint Abi Bakr al-Siddiq—
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exhausted and weary.
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For the other Muhajirun (emigrants)
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were suffering the hardships of travel alone,
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whereas she
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was enduring, beyond the hardships of travel,
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the hardships of pregnancy as well.
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No sooner had Asma set down her burdens in Quba,
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on the outskirts of Yathrib, than labor came upon her,
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and she gave birth to a boy whose arrival
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the City of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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had been awaiting.
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This was because the Jews of the city
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had spread among the people
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the rumor that their rabbis had cast a spell upon the Muslim emigrants,
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and that this spell would render them infertile,
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so that no child would be born to them thereafter.
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Thus, no sooner had the news of the blessed boy’s birth
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spread among the Muslims
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than the corners of the city of the Greatest Messenger,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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rang out with the declaration of Allah’s oneness and greatness (tahlil and takbir).
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The Muslims turned to one another,
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exchanging glad tidings and shouting,
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"The Jews have lied! The Jews have lied!"
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The blessed newborn was carried
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to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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who placed him in his lap.
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He then called for a date,
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chewed it in his noble mouth,
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and placed it into the mouth of the fortunate boy,
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who swallowed it with ease.
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He then named him Abd Allah,
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which was the name of his grandfather, al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him.
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And he gave him the kunya (patronymic) Abu Bakr,
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which was his own.
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Then he commanded al-Siddiq to call the adhan in his ear,
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and he did so.
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Thus, the first thing to enter the belly of that fortunate newborn
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was the saliva of the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him.
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And the first sound to settle in his ear was the sound of the adhan,
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raised by al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him and grant him satisfaction.
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Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr possessed a nobility of lineage
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such as few people have ever attained.
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His father was al-Zubayr Ibn al-Awwam,
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the disciple (hawari) of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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and one of the ten promised Paradise.
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His mother was Asma bint Abi Bakr, the one with the two belts.
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His maternal grandfather was Abu Bakr al-Siddiq,
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the Caliph of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and his intimate friend.
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His maternal aunt was Aisha, Mother of the Believers,
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the innocent and exonerated.
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His paternal grandmother was Safiyya bint Abd al-Muttalib,
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the aunt of the Messenger, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him.
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And his father’s aunt was Khadija bint Khuwaylid,
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the lady of the women of the Arabs.
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Can any honor surpass such honor, other than the honor of Islam?
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And can any glory exceed this glory, other than the glory of faith?
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Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr grew up in the house of Prophethood,
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walked upon the soil of that pure home,
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and was disciplined by its sublime manners.
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He was the most beloved of Allah’s creation to his aunt Aisha,
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after the noble Messenger of Allah, upon him be the best of prayers and purest of salutations,
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and after her father, al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him and grant him satisfaction.
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When Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr reached the age of seven,
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his father, al-Zubayr Ibn al-Awwam, ordered him
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to go to the Messenger, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him,
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and pledge allegiance to him to hear and obey in times of ease and hardship.
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He went to the noble Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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accompanied by Abd Allah Ibn Ja'far Ibn Abi Talib,
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who was a young boy of similar age.
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When the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, saw them
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approaching him to pledge allegiance,
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just as mature men would do,
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he smiled with delight at their actions,
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extended his noble hand to them, and accepted their pledge.
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Throughout his life, Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr
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remembered this pledge,
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and remained committed to it in all his affairs,
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instructing his children to follow the way of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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Once, his son was absent from the house for a long time,
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and when he returned, he said to him,
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"Where were you, my son?"
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He replied,
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"I found a group of people the likes of whom I have never seen.
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They were remembering Allah the Exalted,
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and one of them would wail and tremble
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until he fainted from the fear of Allah."
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"So I sat with them all day long."
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He said to him,
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"Do not sit with them after this time, my son, ever.
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For I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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reciting the Qur'an,
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and remembering Allah the Blessed and Exalted in the most excellent, profound, and sincere manner.
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And I saw Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, may Allah be pleased with them,
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reciting the Qur'an
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and remembering Allah as well,
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yet none of them were afflicted by any of this."
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"Do you think that these companions of yours
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are more fearful of Allah than Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali?"
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Just as Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr was raised in righteousness and piety,
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he was also raised in horsemanship and warfare from his earliest youth.
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His father was extremely keen to have him witness the military expeditions,
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and to take him along to distant lands,
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so that he might attend battles and witness the conquests.
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He took him along on the day of Yarmouk from Medina to the Levant,
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and singled him out with a thoroughbred horse,
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and hired a guardian to look after it for him.
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Thus, he was able to witness the greatest battle in the history of Islam at close range,
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to see the massive armies in their charges and retreats,
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and to accompany them in defeat and victory.
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He became a man of war just as he was a worshiper of the night.
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Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr never missed a battle fought by the Muslims
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from the time he became capable of bearing arms.
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In every battle the mujahidin fought, he had
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an impact that was noted and praised.
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Among these was when the Caliph of the Muslims, Uthman Ibn Affan, may Allah be pleased with him and grant him satisfaction,
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authorized his governor in Egypt to conquer North Africa.
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The invading army set out toward its objective,
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but it was not long before news of them ceased to reach the Caliph,
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which caused him great concern and distress.
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So he sent Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr at the head of a group of Muslim cavalry
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to reinforce the army and bring back news of them.
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Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr met the invading army
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and examined its condition.
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He found that its commander was fighting the polytheists from morning until noon every day,
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and then both his army and theirs would rest due to the harsh weather and intense heat.
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He quickly suggested that he divide his army into two parts:
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one part to fight the first half of the day,
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and one part to fight the second half of the day,
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so that the two groups could alternate resting while the fighting continued.
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In this way, he would not give the enemy a chance to catch their breath.
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The army commander was pleased with the proposed plan
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and ordered its implementation,
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willingly and voluntarily relinquishing command to Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr.
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The two armies fought the next day as they had fought every day.
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When noon arrived,
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the enemies began to withdraw as was their custom,
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but they were shocked and surprised by the Muslims,
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who continued the fight with an army full of vigor,
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sharpened resolve,
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and abundant energy.
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Panic struck their hearts,
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disorder entered their ranks,
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and the signs of defeat appeared upon them.
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At that moment, Ibn al-Zubayr saw the opportunity was ripe,
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so he chose thirty of his strongest men
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and said to them, "Guard my back,
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and you will see what I am about to do."
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Jarjir, the king of the enemies
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and commander of their army, was stationed in the center of his camp,
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riding his grey pack-horse.
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He had two slave girls with him shading him with peacock feathers.
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Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr said to the men he had chosen,
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"I am going toward him, so follow me,
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and repel from me the treachery of anyone who opposes me."
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Then he moved toward Jarjir,
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steady of heart, firm of resolve, and measured of step.
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He began to cut through the ranks with both hands in calm composure.
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The people thought he was an envoy
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who had come from the Muslims to negotiate.
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When he reached the center of the camp,
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the king realized his intent and feared his might,
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so he turned to flee.
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But Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr caught up with him
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and struck him a blow that threw him to the ground.
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Then he pounced upon him,
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finished him off, and severed his head,
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hoisting it upon his spear.
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Then he raised his voice in takbir,
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and the Muslims shouted takbir in response to him.
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Zeal stirred the souls of the Muslims,
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and panic spread in the hearts of the polytheists,
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so they turned their backs and fled,
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leaving their rears exposed to Ibn al-Zubayr
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and his soldiers fighting in the cause of Allah.
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Allah honored Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr,
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for he possessed, above all his other virtues,
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the loftiness of piety and the purity of righteousness,
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as he lived standing in prayer by night and fasting by day,
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with a heart attached to the houses of Allah.
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People used to call him "the Dove of the Mosque."
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It was known that he divided the nights of his life into three:
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one night he would spend standing in prayer until morning,
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one night he would spend bowing until morning,
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and one night he would spend prostrating until morning as well.
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He had stances during the seasons of worship
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that shook the hearts of the Muslims,
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and stirred the hidden depths of faith in their hearts.
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Among these is what was narrated by Muhammad Ibn Abd Allah al-Thaqafi,
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He said: ‘Abdullah Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) came out to us,
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one day before the Day of Tarwiyah, while he was in the state of ihram.
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He recited the talbiyah in a manner more beautiful than any I had ever heard,
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and indeed, like nothing else I have ever heard.
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Then he praised Allah with the most abundant praise,
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and extolled Him with the most excellent commendation.
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He then said: ‘To proceed:
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You have come from various horizons,
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as delegations to Allah, the Almighty and Majestic.
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It is the right of Allah to honor those who come to Him as His delegation.
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So whoever among you has come seeking what is with Allah,
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know that one who seeks Allah shall not be disappointed.
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Verify your words with your deeds,
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for the essence of speech is action.
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And intention, intention!
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For deeds are but by intentions.
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Fear Allah, fear Allah regarding these days of yours,
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for they are days in which sins are forgiven.’
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Then he recited the talbiyah,
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and the people recited the talbiyah along with him.
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I have never seen a day,
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in which there were more people weeping than on that day.
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Furthermore,
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‘Abdullah Ibn al-Zubayr spent his entire life,
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struggling for what he believed to be the truth,
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until he was killed near the sacred Ka‘bah.
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Among those who wept at the time of his death,
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was ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with them both).