Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 67 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (82) - Al-Zubayr bin Al-Awwam, 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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Al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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Leaders of the world—who led, and who did not transgress?
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The harshness of man in the eras and the trials.
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No, that is not what we seek.
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Who is this knight who cleaved through the ranks of men in Makkah with his sword,
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out of protective zeal for the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him?
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He was the first to unsheathe a blade in Islam.
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Who is this champion whom the Faruq (Umar ibn al-Khattab) sent as reinforcements to the Muslims in Egypt,
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and counted him as equivalent to a thousand men?
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He was indeed better for them than thousands.
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Who is this fedayeen (heroic fighter) whose history has never known
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anyone braver than him,
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nor more magnificent in sacrifice,
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nor nobler in purpose,
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nor more blessed for Islam?
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He is al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam,
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the disciple (hawari) of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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Al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam was among the elite of the Quraysh,
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for his lineage meets with the lineage of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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at Qusayy ibn Kilab.
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His mother was Safiyyah bint Abd al-Muttalib,
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the paternal aunt of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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His maternal aunt was Khadijah bint Khuwaylid,
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the most righteous and noble of the wives of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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Al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam was born
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about fifteen years before the Prophetic mission.
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Yet, he had barely opened his eyes to the world
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when he found himself an orphan,
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for his father had been killed on the fields of battle,
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just as his grandfather had been killed before him.
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His mother, Safiyyah bint Abd al-Muttalib, took charge of his upbringing,
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raising him in toughness and fortitude.
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She was a firm and strict woman,
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who would cast him into every fearful situation
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and thrust him into every danger.
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If he ever held back, hesitated, or fell short,
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she would beat him severely.
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So much so that his uncle, Nawfal ibn Khuwaylid,
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used to reproach her for her harshness toward him, saying,
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"This is not how a child is beaten."
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"You are beating him with the beating of one who hates him."
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She would then recite verses, saying:
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"Whoever says I hate him has lied;
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I only beat him so that he may become intelligent,
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defeat armies, and bring back spoils."
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When the Arabian Peninsula was illuminated by the light of Islam,
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al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam was
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among the first to embrace it.
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He accepted Islam on the second day
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after the conversion of al-Siddiq (Abu Bakr), may Allah be pleased with him,
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and he was fifteen years old at the time.
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He was the brave one who gave the Quraysh a taste
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of what the strongest men’s resolve could inflict.
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He did not falter, nor did he weaken.
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His uncle, Nawfal ibn Khuwaylid,
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would devise ways to torture him,
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even wrapping him in a mat
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and lighting a fire around its edges,
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so that the smoke would rise into his face
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and the heat would permeate his body,
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until he was on the verge of suffocating to death.
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His uncle would watch him calmly,
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and when the distress became too great for him,
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he would say, "Return to your religion."
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And he would reply, "I will never disbelieve."
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When the first Muslims migrated
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to Abyssinia, al-Zubayr was at the forefront
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of the emigrants. He and his brothers found
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refuge under the protection of its righteous king,
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and they began to worship Allah, fearing no one.
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While they were in that state,
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a man from the king's own people rose up against the Negus,
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disputing his rule.
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The Negus went out to meet him,
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crossing the Nile to encounter him and his forces.
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The Muslims were filled with extreme anxiety.
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Umm Salamah, who was with them, said:
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"By Allah, I do not know that we
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ever felt a sadness
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greater than what afflicted us that day,
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fearing that the man would prevail
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over the Negus and hand us over to
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our people who were searching for us."
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The Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, asked,
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"Who is a man who will cross the Nile
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and bring us news of the people?"
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Al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam said, "I will."
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He was the youngest of the group.
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Umm Salamah said: "They inflated a waterskin for him,
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which he placed against his chest,
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and he set off swimming among the waves and the sea creatures,
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until he crossed the Nile from one bank to
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the other and reached the battlefield."
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While we were gathered and waiting,
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praying to Allah for the Negus to prevail over
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his enemy, al-Zubayr appeared to us,
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waving his garment from afar and saying,
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"Rejoice, for the Negus has triumphed
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and Allah has destroyed his enemy."
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Umm Salamah said: "By Allah, I have never known us
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to feel a joy like that ever before."
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When al-Zubayr returned to Makkah
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from Abyssinia, he dedicated his youth,
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his strength, and his boldness to the cause of Allah
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and His Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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The polytheists spread rumors about the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, saying
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that he had been captured to be killed.
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The brave youth unsheathed his sword
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and began to cleave through the ranks of the people,
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until he reached the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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in the upper part of Makkah.
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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, asked him,
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"What is the matter, O Zubayr?"
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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, then prayed for him
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and for his sword.
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Thus, his sword was the first sword
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ever unsheathed in Islam.
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When Allah gave permission to His Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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to migrate to Madinah,
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the Muslims began to leave in groups,
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so that they might support one another.
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They were careful to leave in secret, except
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for three of the stalwarts of the Muslims,
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who left individually
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and in the open view of the Quraysh.
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Each one of them would circumambulate the Ka'bah,
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announce his departure to the Quraysh,
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and challenge them to stop him or follow him.
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These three were:
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Umar ibn al-Khattab,
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the Caliph of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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(and) the uncle of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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and al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam,
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the disciple of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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On the day of Badr,
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the Muslims had only two horses.
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One of them belonged to al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam.
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He mounted his horse
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and wrapped a yellow turban around his head.
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When Allah aided His Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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with the angels,
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they were wearing yellow turbans.
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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
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"The angels have descended in the likeness of al-Zubayr,"
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meaning in his form and appearance.
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Al-Zubayr performed valiantly at Badr, a performance
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befitting a champion knight like him.
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He encountered a group of the leaders of the polytheists,
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and they met their end at his hands.
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You will be astonished to know that one of those he slew
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was his own uncle, Nawfal ibn Khuwaylid,
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the owner of the mat.
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On the day of Uhud,
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al-Zubayr pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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to fight to the death in that battle.
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When the distress intensified for the Muslims
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and they began to retreat in every direction,
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he saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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being attacked severely by the polytheists,
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who were killing their men in the most violent manner.
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He turned to al-Zubayr and said,
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"To him, O Zubayr!" The words of the
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Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had barely touched
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his ears when he sprang like a lion, charging,
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ascended to a place above the people,
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leaped upon him while he was on his mount,
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embraced him, and brought him down to the ground,
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until he was on top of his chest,
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and killed him.
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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, then
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sacrificed his own father and mother for him.
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On the day of Hunayn, the polytheists were about
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to surround the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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He continued to fight them
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until he drove them from their positions.
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The polytheists complained to one of their leaders about a knight
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who carried his spear on his shoulder
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and wrapped his head with a yellow cloth.
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They sought his help against him
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and asked him about him, and he said,
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"This is al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam."
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"I swear by Allah and al-Uzza,
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he will break through your ranks,
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and he will mix with your lines, so stand firm against him."
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Al-Zubayr did not prove his assumption wrong;
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he began to fight them until he entered their ranks
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and drove them away.
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The sword of al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam remained
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unsheathed throughout the life of the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him.
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He never missed
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a single battle that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, fought,
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He endured for the sake of that
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whatever Allah willed for him to endure,
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to the point that there was not a single limb of his body
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that had not been wounded alongside the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
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If we were to set out to examine
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the heroic exploits of al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam
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after the passing of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
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we would find them no less brilliant or extraordinary
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than they were during the era
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of the noble Messenger, peace be upon him.
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It suffices us, among these bright and
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luminous accounts, to recall what he did on the day of
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the conquest of Egypt.
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'Amr ibn al-'As set out for Egypt to conquer it
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with three thousand five hundred men
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from the Muslim army.
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No sooner had he penetrated deep into the land of Egypt
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than he felt the need for reinforcements.
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He wrote to al-Faruq [Umar ibn al-Khattab] requesting
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whatever surplus troops he could spare.
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Al-Faruq looked around him,
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and al-Zubayr was at that time
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determined to invade Antioch.
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So 'Umar said to him,
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"O Abu 'Abd Allah, would you like the governorship of Egypt?"
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He replied, "I have no need for that,
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but I will go out as a mujahid for the sake of Allah,
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assisting the Muslims.
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If I find that 'Amr has already conquered it,
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I will not interfere with his work and will head elsewhere,
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and if I find him still in battle, I will be with him."
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So al-Faruq prepared four thousand
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of the Muslim soldiers
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and placed them under the command of al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam,
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al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad, 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit,
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and Maslamah ibn Mukhallad.
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He wrote to 'Amr ibn al-'As saying,
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"I have reinforced you with four thousand men,
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each thousand of whom is worth a thousand men."
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When al-Zubayr arrived to join 'Amr,
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he found him besieging the fortress of Babylon
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in Fustat, so he mounted his horse
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and circled the walls of the fortress.
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Then he designated the positions for his men.
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The siege of the Babylon fortress dragged on,
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and people began to say that there was
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a plague inside the fortress. Al-Zubayr replied,
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"We have come for the thrust of the spear and the plague."
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When the conquest was delayed,
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and boredom and weariness began to affect the Muslims,
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al-Zubayr said, "I offer my soul to Allah,
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and I hope that Allah will grant victory
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to the Muslims through it."
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Al-Zubayr prepared a sturdy, strong ladder
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and leaned it against one of the fortress walls.
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He commanded his men that when they heard his takbir,
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they should all respond with one voice.
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It was only a short while
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before al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam drew his sword,
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climbed the rungs of the ladder in the blink of an eye,
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scaled the fortress wall, and shouted,
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"Allah is the Greatest! Allah is the Greatest!"
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Thousands of throats erupted behind him
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to echo, "Allah is the Greatest!"
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"Allah is the Greatest!"
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The sound shook the hearts of the polytheists.
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Al-Zubayr threw himself
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inside the fortress, and the Muslim soldiers followed
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by throwing themselves in after him.
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They set their swords upon the necks of the Romans,
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who were stunned by the surprise.
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Al-Zubayr and his companions made for the fortress gate,
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opened it, and the masses of the
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Muslims stormed in and descended upon their enemy
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like a thunderbolt.
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Allah decreed victory for His soldiers,
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and it was said, "Destruction to the wrongdoers."
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"The angels descended in the likeness of al-Zubayr."
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The Messenger, peace be upon him, said this
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on the day of Badr.