Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 10 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (25) - Zaid bin Haritha, may God be pleased with him
0:000:00
Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
0:00
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
0:15
The Mawaddah Association is pleased
0:18
to present to you glimpses from the lives of the Companions,
0:22
by Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
0:25
may Allah have mercy upon him.
0:27
Zayd ibn Harithah,
0:32
may Allah be pleased with him.
0:47
Sa'dah bint Tha'labah set out to visit her kin among the Banu Ma'n.
0:51
She was accompanied by her young son, Zayd ibn Harithah al-Ka'bi.
0:56
No sooner had she arrived in the lands of her people
0:59
than the cavalry of the Banu al-Qayn raided them.
1:02
They seized their wealth, drove off their camels,
1:05
and took their children captive.
1:07
Among those they carried off with them
1:10
was her son, Zayd ibn Harithah.
1:13
Zayd was at that time a young boy,
1:16
barely eight years of age.
1:18
They brought him to the market of 'Ukaz
1:20
and offered him for sale.
1:22
He was purchased by a wealthy man among the notables of Quraysh,
1:25
Hakim ibn Hizam ibn Khuwaylid,
1:28
for four hundred dirhams.
1:30
He also bought a group of other boys with him
1:33
and returned with them to Makkah.
1:35
When his aunt, Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, learned of his arrival,
1:39
she visited him, greeting him and welcoming him.
1:43
He said to her, "O Aunt,
1:46
I have purchased a group of boys from the market of 'Ukaz.
1:50
Choose whichever of them you wish,
1:53
for he is a gift for you."
1:55
Lady Khadijah examined the faces of the boys
1:59
and chose Zayd ibn Harithah,
2:01
due to the signs of nobility she saw in him.
2:04
She took him away.
2:06
It was only a short time later
2:08
that Khadijah bint Khuwaylid married
2:10
Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah.
2:13
She wished to honor him and present him with a gift,
2:16
and she found nothing better than her cherished boy, Zayd ibn Harithah,
2:20
so she gifted him to him.
2:22
While this fortunate boy
2:24
was being raised under the care of Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah,
2:27
enjoying his noble companionship,
2:29
and benefiting from his beautiful character,
2:31
his mother, devastated by his loss, could not stem her tears,
2:36
nor could her anguish be calmed,
2:38
nor could she find rest.
2:40
What added to her grief upon grief
2:43
was that she did not know if he was alive, so that she might hope for him,
2:46
or dead, so that she might despair of him.
2:49
As for his father,
2:51
he began to search for him in every land,
2:53
asking every caravan about him,
2:55
and pouring his longing for him into sad poetry
2:59
that would break hearts,
3:01
as he said:
3:03
"I wept for Zayd, not knowing what became of him;
3:07
is he alive to be hoped for, or has his time come?
3:11
By Allah, I do not know, and I am ever asking:
3:15
Did the plains consume him, or did the mountains?
3:19
The sun reminds me of him at its rising,
3:22
and his memory returns when it sets and fades.
3:26
I shall drive my camels hard across the earth,
3:29
and I will not tire of wandering, nor shall the camels tire.
3:33
My life may end, or my fate may overtake me,
3:37
for every person is mortal, even if hope deceives him."
3:41
During one of the Hajj seasons,
3:45
a group from Zayd's tribe set out for the Sacred House.
3:48
While they were circumambulating the Ancient House,
3:51
they suddenly came face to face with Zayd.
3:54
They recognized him, he recognized them, and they questioned one another.
3:58
When they had completed their rites and returned to their lands,
4:02
they informed Harithah of what they had seen
4:04
and told him what they had heard.
4:07
Harithah lost no time in preparing his mount,
4:10
and he carried enough wealth to ransom the apple of his eye,
4:14
the joy of his heart, and he took his brother Ka'b with him.
4:18
They set off together, hastening their journey toward Makkah.
4:22
When they reached it, they entered upon Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah
4:26
and said to him, "O son of 'Abd al-Muttalib,
4:30
you are the neighbors of Allah;
4:32
you free the captive, feed the hungry,
4:35
and aid the distressed.
4:38
We have come to you regarding our son who is with you.
4:41
We have brought you wealth to ransom him,
4:44
so show us favor and ransom him for us as you wish."
4:47
Muhammad said, "And who is the son you mean?"
4:51
They replied, "Your boy, Zayd ibn Harithah."
4:55
He said, "Would you like something better than the ransom?"
4:59
They asked, "And what is that?"
5:02
He said, "I will call him for you,
5:05
and let him choose between me and you.
5:08
If he chooses you, he is yours without any payment,
5:11
and if he chooses me, then by Allah,
5:14
I am not one to turn away from one who chooses me."
5:17
They said, "You have been fair,
5:20
and you have exceeded in fairness."
5:23
Muhammad called Zayd and said, "Who are these?"
5:26
He said, "This is my father,
5:29
Harithah ibn Sharahil, and this is my uncle, Ka'b."
5:33
He said, "I have given you the choice:
5:36
if you wish, go with them,
5:39
and if you wish, stay with me."
5:42
He said without delay or hesitation,
5:45
"Rather, I will stay with you."
5:48
His father said, "Woe to you, Zayd!
5:51
Do you choose slavery over your father and mother?"
5:54
He replied, "I have seen from this man
5:57
something that makes me unable to ever leave him."
6:00
When Muhammad saw from Zayd
6:03
what he saw, he took him by the hand,
6:06
led him out to the Sacred House
6:09
before the assembly of Quraysh,
6:12
and said, "O assembly of Quraysh,
6:15
bear witness that this is my son; he inherits from me and I inherit from him."
6:18
His father and uncle were satisfied,
6:21
left him with Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah,
6:24
and returned to their people with peaceful hearts
6:27
and easy minds. From that day on,
6:30
Zayd ibn Harithah began to be called Zayd ibn Muhammad.
6:33
He continued to be called that
6:36
until the Messenger, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, was sent,
6:39
and Islam abolished adoption,
6:42
as the words of the Almighty were revealed:
6:45
"Call them by their fathers."
6:48
So he became known as Zayd ibn Harithah.
6:51
Zayd did not know, when he chose Muhammad
6:54
over his mother and father, what a prize he had won,
6:57
nor did he know that his master,
7:00
whom he preferred over his family and kin,
7:03
was the master of the first and the last,
7:06
and the Messenger of Allah to all of His creation.
7:09
It never crossed his mind
7:12
that a heavenly state would rise upon the face of the earth,
7:15
filling the space between the East and the West
7:18
with righteousness and justice, and that he himself
7:21
would be the first brick in the construction
7:24
of this great state.
7:27
None of that was in Zayd's mind;
7:30
it was only the grace of Allah, which He gives to whom He wills,
7:33
and Allah is the Possessor of great bounty.
7:36
For not many years had passed
7:39
since this incident of choosing
7:42
when Allah sent His Prophet, Muhammad,
7:45
with the religion of guidance and truth,
7:49
and Zayd ibn Harithah was the first of the men to believe in him.
7:52
And is there any precedence above this precedence
7:55
for which the competitors compete?
7:58
Zayd ibn Harithah became the confidant
8:01
of the secret of the Messenger of Allah, a commander
8:04
of his expeditions and detachments,
8:07
and one of his deputies over Madinah whenever
8:10
the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, departed.
8:13
And just as Zayd loved the Prophet
8:16
and preferred him over his mother and father,
8:19
the noble Messenger, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, loved him,
8:22
treated him as his own family and son,
8:26
rejoiced at his arrival when he returned to him,
8:29
and met him with a welcome that no one else
8:32
was privileged to receive.
8:35
Here is 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
8:38
depicting for us a scene of the
8:41
joy of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
8:44
at meeting Zayd:
8:47
"Zayd ibn Harithah arrived in Madinah
8:50
while the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was [at home],
8:53
and he knocked on the door.
8:56
The Messenger rose to meet him, unclothed,
8:59
wearing nothing but what covered between his navel and his knee,
9:02
and he went to the door, dragging his garment,
9:05
then embraced him and kissed him.
9:08
By Allah, I never saw the Messenger of Allah unclothed before or after that."
9:11
The news of the Prophet's love
9:14
for Zayd spread among the Muslims and became widely known,
9:17
so they called him "Zayd the Beloved,"
9:20
a title of the beloved of the Messenger of Allah,
9:23
and his son Usamah was called after him
9:26
"The Beloved of the Messenger of Allah and the son of his beloved."
9:29
In the eighth year of the Hijrah,
9:32
Allah, in His infinite wisdom, willed
9:35
to test the beloved with the loss of his beloved.
9:38
For the Messenger, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him,
9:41
had sent al-Harith ibn 'Umayr al-Azdi
9:44
with a letter to the King of Busra, inviting him [to Islam].
9:48
When al-Harith reached Mu'tah in eastern Jordan,
9:51
one of the Ghassanid princes,
9:54
Shurahbil ibn 'Amr, intercepted him,
9:57
seized him, and bound him tightly,
10:00
then brought him forward and struck off his head.
10:03
This weighed heavily upon the Prophet, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him,
10:06
for no messenger of his had ever been killed before him.
10:09
He prepared an army of three thousand fighters
10:12
to invade Mu'tah,
10:15
an army [led by] his beloved Zayd ibn Harithah,
10:18
and he said, "If Zayd is struck down,
10:21
then the command is for Ja'far ibn Abi Talib;
10:24
if Ja'far is struck down,
10:27
it is for 'Abdullah ibn Rawahah;
10:30
If Abdullah is struck down,
10:33
then the Muslims shall choose a man from among them.
10:36
The army proceeded until it reached Ma'an,
10:39
in eastern Jordan,
10:43
to defend the Ghassanids.
10:46
And one hundred thousand polytheist Arabs joined him.
10:49
This massive army encamped not far
10:52
from the Muslims' positions.
10:55
The Muslims stayed in Ma'an for two nights,
10:58
consulting about what to do.
11:01
Then one said, "Shall we write to the Messenger of Allah,
11:04
inform him of the number of our enemy,
11:07
and await his command?"
11:10
"We do not fight by numbers, nor by strength, nor by multitude.
11:13
Rather, we fight by means of this religion."
11:16
"So go forth to what you set out for,
11:19
and Allah has guaranteed you victory in one of two good outcomes:
11:22
either triumph,
11:25
or martyrdom."
11:28
Then the two armies met on the battlefield of Mu'tah.
11:31
The Muslims fought a battle that astonished the Romans
11:34
and filled their hearts with awe for these three thousand
11:37
who stood against an army of two hundred thousand.
11:40
Zayd ibn Harithah fought valiantly
11:43
for the banner of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
11:46
a struggle for which the history of heroism
11:49
had no equal, until his body was pierced
11:52
by hundreds of spears, and he fell dead,
11:55
swimming in his blood.
11:58
Then Ja'far ibn Abi Talib took the banner from him,
12:01
and defended it with the noblest defense,
12:04
until he joined his companion.
12:07
Then Abdullah ibn Rawahah took the banner from him,
12:10
and fought for it with the most valiant struggle,
12:13
until he met the same fate as his two companions.
12:16
The people then appointed Khalid ibn al-Walid over them,
12:19
who had recently embraced Islam.
12:22
He then withdrew the army and saved it from certain annihilation.
12:25
News of Mu'tah reached the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
12:29
and the martyrdom of the three commanders,
12:32
and he grieved for them with a grief he had never grieved before.
12:35
He went to their families to offer condolences.
12:38
When he reached the house of Zayd ibn Harithah,
12:41
his young daughter clung to him,
12:44
weeping profusely.
12:47
So the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, wept
12:50
until he was overcome.
12:53
Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah said to him,
12:56
"O Messenger of Allah, what makes you weep?"
13:00
The Prophet, peace be upon him, replied,
13:03
"This is the weeping of a beloved for his beloved."
13:09
"By Allah,
13:12
Zayd ibn Harithah was indeed worthy of command,
13:15
and he was the most beloved of people to him,
13:18
Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah."