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· Lesson 9 of 31
Ramadan events and lessons | Episode (9) | The march of Khalid bin Al-Walid, may God be pleased with him, to demolish Al-Uzza
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Transcript
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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An abridgment of the book
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Ramadan:
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Events and Lessons.
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The expedition of Khalid ibn al-Walid, may Allah be pleased with him,
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to demolish al-'Uzza.
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The Date:
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When five nights remained of Ramadan,
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in the eighth year of the Hijrah.
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The day of the Conquest of Makkah was
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a momentous day among
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the days of Islam,
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and a radiant era upon the horizon of time.
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For on this glorious day,
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the idols were demolished,
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the statues smashed,
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the practice of divining
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by arrows torn out from the Sacred House,
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and Makkah
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and its environs purified from the defilement of polytheism
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and idolatry.
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The Mother of Cities was proclaimed
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a land free from
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the deities of the pre-Islamic Jahiliyyah,
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and enriched with the worship of the oneness of Allah,
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the Lord of all creation.
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In the Noble Qur'an,
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there is frequent mention of
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the futility of idol worship,
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along with the continuous call
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to the oneness of Allah, the Exalted,
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and the rejection of every belief
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that contradicts it.
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Among those gods
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worshipped besides Allah, the Exalted,
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by the people of Makkah
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was al-'Uzza.
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Our Lord, Blessed and Exalted is He, says:
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"Have you considered al-Lat
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and al-'Uzza,
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and Manat, the third, the other?
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Is the male for you
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and for Him the female?
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That,
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then, is a division
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most unfair!
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They are not but
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names
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you have named
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them,
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you
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and your forefathers,
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for which
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Allah has not sent down
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any authority.
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They follow not
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except assumption
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and what desires
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the souls,
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while there has surely come
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to them from their Lord
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the guidance."
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Ibn Kathir said:
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"Al-'Uzza is derived from al-'Aziz (the Mighty),
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and it was a tree over which
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a structure and curtains had been erected in Nakhlah,
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situated between Makkah and at-Ta'if.
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Quraysh
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used to venerate it,
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as Abu Sufyan said on the Day of Uhud:
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'We have al-'Uzza,
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and you have no 'Uzza!'
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So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
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'Say:
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"Allah is our Protector,
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and you have no protector."'"
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Al-Bukhari narrated from Abu Hurayrah,
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may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
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The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
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"Whoever swears an oath
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and says in his oath,
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'By al-Lat and al-'Uzza,'
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let him say,
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'There is no god worthy of worship except Allah.'
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And whoever says to his companion,
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'Come, let me gamble with you,'
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let him give charity."
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This applies to
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someone who utters it by a slip of the tongue,
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just as their tongues
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were accustomed to it during the time of
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the Jahiliyyah.
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These are the three explicitly mentioned
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in His Mighty Book.
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He singled this one out for mention—
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meaning al-'Uzza—
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because it was the most famous among them.
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Ibn Ishaq said in the Seerah:
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"The Arabs had
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taken false deities alongside the Ka'bah,
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which were shrines
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they venerated just as they venerated the Ka'bah.
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They had custodians and gatekeepers,
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offerings were dedicated to them
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just as offerings were dedicated to the Ka'bah,
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they circumambulated them
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just as they circumambulated it,
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and they slaughtered sacrifices near them,
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though they recognized the Ka'bah's superiority over them,
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for they knew
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that it was the House of Ibrahim, peace be upon him,
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and his place of worship.
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Thus, Quraysh and Banu
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Kinanah possessed al-'Uzza at Nakhlah,
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and its custodians
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and gatekeepers were Banu Shayban
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from Sulaym, the allies of
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Banu Hashim."
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When five nights remained of Ramadan
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in the eighth year,
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right after the Conquest of Makkah,
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the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, sent
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Khalid ibn al-Walid, may Allah be pleased
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with him, to demolish al-'Uzza,
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and so he demolished it.
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Ibn al-Kalbi said:
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"The one who first instituted al-'Uzza
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was Zalim ibn As'ad.
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It was located in a valley in Nakhlah,
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and it was the greatest
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of idols among Quraysh.
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They used to visit it,
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dedicate offerings to it,
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and seek proximity through sacrifices near it.
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Quraysh had indeed
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set aside a sacred sanctuary for it in the valley of
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Hurad, making it a sacred precinct
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to rival the sanctuary of the Ka'bah.
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And Quraysh
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accorded it special veneration."
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For that reason,
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Zayd ibn 'Amr ibn Nufayl said—
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who had devoted himself to pure monotheism
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during the Jahiliyyah, abandoning
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its worship and the worship of other
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idols:
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"I have abandoned both al-Lat and al-'Uzza together;
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thus does
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the resolute, patient person act.
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Neither al-'Uzza do I worship,
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nor its two daughters,
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nor do I visit the two idols of Ghanam,
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nor do I visit Hubal,
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though he was once our lord
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in times past when my intellect was tender."
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When the year of the Conquest came,
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the Prophet, peace be upon him, summoned
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Khalid ibn al-Walid
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and said:
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"Go to a tree
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in the valley of Nakhlah and cut it down."
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So Khalid set out,
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and when
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its custodian, Dubayyah, saw him,
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Dubayyah said to al-'Uzza:
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"O 'Uzza, launch a fierce assault
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and do not fail!
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Cast off your veil against Khalid
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and tuck up your robes!
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For if you do not kill
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Khalid today, you will incur
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swift disgrace and be defeated!"
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Thereupon
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Khalid said: "O 'Uzza, disbelief be upon you,
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not praise!
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Indeed, I have seen that Allah has
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humiliated you."
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He then struck her, splitting her head,
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and she turned into ashes.
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Then he chopped down the tree
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and killed Dubayyah, the custodian.
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Then he returned to the Prophet, peace be upon him,
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and informed him.
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So he said:
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"That was al-'Uzza,
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and there is no 'Uzza for the Arabs after her;
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indeed, she
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will never be worshipped after this day."
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Around that same time
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in Ramadan of that year,
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the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings
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be upon him, dispatched 'Amr ibn al-'As
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to demolish Suwa'
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in the land of Hudhayl,
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and he dispatched Sa'd ibn Zayd
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al-Ashhali to demolish Manat,
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which was located at al-Mushallal
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and belonged to the Aws, the Khazraj, and Ghassan.
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Glimpses
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from the Seerah of Khalid ibn al-Walid,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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Indeed, Khalid ibn al-Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) is
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an exemplar—
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a unique model of noble men
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who etched with their magnificent
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deeds their names
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upon the wall of time,
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leaving their praise shining brightly
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in the memory of eternity.
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A few short years
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of a life of greatness
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entered Khalid (may Allah be pleased with him)—
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eternal like his name—
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into the history of the great,
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remaining an advanced academy
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from whose genius
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great minds graduate,
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and from the legacy of whose
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extraordinary military deeds
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generations after generations drink.
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Indeed, Abu Sulayman
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(may Allah be pleased with him) was a model
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of the seasoned commander
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who mastered
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the art of leadership,
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excelled at crafting battle plans,
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and knew how to direct them.
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He was a fine example
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of a great man
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who humbles himself before the truth,
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bows to it,
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casts aside arrogant pride,
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and answers the call of prudent reason
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and the invitation of the upright religion.
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He was a shining example
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of a believing commander
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who seeks his reward
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from Allah alone,
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counting his work as stored with Him,
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never seeking military ranks
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or promotions,
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nor clinging eagerly
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to the station he reached.
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He never exploited
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his military position
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to pursue his personal whims
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or satisfy his worldly desires.
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He was
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a burnished sword
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with which Allah struck down the heads of falsehood,
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raised the banner of truth,
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and removed
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from the path of Islam's spreading light
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dense veils of injustice
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and darkness that stood
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in its way, until he reached
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with the hooves of Islam's cavalry horses
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the lands of Byzantium and Persia.
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Let us draw closer
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to his life for a moment
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to know this great man
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who entered
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the world as a newborn in Makkah,
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and whose pure body was embraced
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in death by a plot
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of land in the Levant.
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His Name and Lineage,
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may Allah be pleased with him:
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He is the great commander
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and noble Companion,
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Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah
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ibn 'Abdullah
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ibn 'Umar ibn Makhzum al-Qurashi
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al-Makhzumi,
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the Sword of Allah, Abu Sulayman,
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one of the most famous brave warriors.
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He was never defeated in the pre-Islamic era (Jahiliyyah)
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nor in Islam.
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He was one of the nobles of
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Quraysh during the Jahiliyyah.
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His Acceptance of Islam,
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may Allah be pleased with him:
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Scholars differed regarding the time of his conversion
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and migration. It was said
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in the seventh year after
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Khaybar, and it was said before it,
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and it was said on the first day
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of Safar in the eighth year
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of the Hijrah.
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Ibn Hajar preferred the view that
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he accepted Islam between al-Hudaybiyyah
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and the Conquest of Makkah.
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His Specialization, may Allah be pleased with him:
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He was a military commander
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of the first order,
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both in the Jahiliyyah and in Islam.
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His battle plans
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and military tactics were
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among the causes of
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victory in his battles.
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In the Jahiliyyah,
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the custodianship of the dome (al-Qubbah)
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and the reins of the horses (al-A'innnah) were entrusted to him.
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As for the dome,
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they would set it up
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and assemble within it
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whatever supplies they equipped the army with;
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as for the reins,
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he was
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the leader of Quraysh's cavalry
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in wars.
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He fought alongside the disbelievers of Quraysh
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in wars up until the Umrah of al-Hudaybiyyah,
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and his role in turning
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the tide of battle in the Battle of
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Uhud is well known.
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In Islam,
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he held the lion's share,
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as will be mentioned.
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Due to his preoccupation with this specialization,
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he did not narrate from the Messenger of Allah
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(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
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except a few hadiths,
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such as the hadith about eating lizard
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in the house of his maternal aunt
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Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her)
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at the dining sheet of the Messenger of Allah
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(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
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and his statement in which he said:
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"Nine swords were broken
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in my hand
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on the day of Mu'tah,
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and nothing remained in my hand
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except a Yemeni broadsword."
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He even said:
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"Jihad distracted me
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from learning much
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of the Qur'an."
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His Virtues, may Allah be pleased with him:
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First:
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The Messenger of Allah
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(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
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titling him as one of the swords of Allah.
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On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him),
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the Prophet
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(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
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announced the deaths of Zayd, Ja'far,
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and Ibn Rawahah to the people
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before there came to them
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news of them.
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He said: "Zayd took the banner
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and was struck down;
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then Ja'far took it
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and was struck down;
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then Ibn Rawahah took it
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and was struck down"—and his eyes
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were overflowing with tears—
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"until a sword
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from the swords of Allah took it,
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whereupon Allah granted them victory."
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He became known by this noble title.
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Second:
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The defense of him by the Messenger of Allah
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(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
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when it was said of him
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that he withheld zakat.
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On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him),
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he said:
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The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) ordered
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the giving of charity.
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It was said:
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"Ibn Jamil, Khalid ibn al-Walid,
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and al-'Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib withheld it."
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So the Prophet
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(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
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"As for Khalid,
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you are doing an injustice
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to Khalid,
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for he has devoted his armor
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and equipment in the cause of Allah."
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Third:
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The praise of the Messenger of Allah
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(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for him
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as being an excellent young man of the tribe.
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Abu 'Ubaydah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
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I heard the Messenger of Allah
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(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
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say:
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"Khalid is a sword from the swords of Allah (Mighty and Majestic is He),
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and an excellent young man of the tribe."
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Fourth:
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The supplication of the Messenger of Allah
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(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for him
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for victory.
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On the authority of Abu Qatadah al-Ansari
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(may Allah be pleased with him), he said:
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The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
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"O Allah,
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he is a sword from
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Your swords, so grant him victory."
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Fifth:
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The praise of the senior Companions
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for him. Omar (may Allah be pleased with him) said regarding him—
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and he was his maternal cousin—
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"Women have never
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given birth to
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the likes of Khalid."
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And he also said regarding him,
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when he learned that the women of Banu al-Mughirah
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had gathered to weep for him:
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"There is no harm in them
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pouring forth their tears
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over Abu Sulayman,
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so long as there is no throwing of dust
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or wailing."
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Throwing dust refers to placing soil on the head,
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while wailing refers to loud, raised
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voices.
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And when he passed away,
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Omar uttered the prayer of loss and said:
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"By Allah, he was a fortress against
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the throats of the enemy,
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and a man of blessed character."
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He likewise said:
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"May Allah have mercy on Abu Sulayman.
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What is with Allah is far better for him
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than the state he was in.
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Indeed, he died blessed
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and lived praised."
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His death (may Allah be pleased with him):
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He died in his bed
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in the year 21 AH
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in Homs,
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and he was buried in a village
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a mile away from Homs.
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His grave has remained
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well-known there to this day,
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and those who claim
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that he died in Medina are mistaken.
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When he passed away,
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nothing was found in his possession
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except his horse, his servant,
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and his weapons.
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He had said:
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"When I die,
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look to my weapons and my horse,
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and dedicate them as equipment
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in the cause of Allah."
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Ramadan: Events and Lessons.