Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 4 of 15
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (4) - Abdullah bin Hudhafa Al-Sahmi, 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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Abdullah ibn Hudhafah al-Sahmi,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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The hero of our story is a man from the Companions
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named Abdullah ibn Hudhafah al-Sahmi.
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History could easily have
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passed by this man just as it passed by millions of Arabs before him,
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without taking notice of them or giving them a second thought.
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But the great religion of Islam
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enabled Abdullah ibn Hudhafah al-Sahmi
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to meet the masters of the world in his time:
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Chosroes, the King of Persia,
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and Caesar, the Great Emperor of Rome,
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and to have with each of them
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a story that the memory of time still preserves,
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and which the tongue of history continues to recount.
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As for his story with Chosroes, the King of Persia,
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it took place in the sixth year of the Hijrah,
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when the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, resolved
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to send a group of his Companions
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with letters to the kings of the non-Arabs,
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inviting them therein to Islam.
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The Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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understood the gravity of this mission.
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For these envoys
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were going to distant lands
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with which they had no prior acquaintance,
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and they were ignorant of the languages of those lands,
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nor did they know anything about the temperaments of their kings.
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Furthermore, they were going to call upon these kings
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to abandon their religions,
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and to relinquish their glory and authority,
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and to enter into the religion of a people
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who, until the recent past, were among some of their subjects.
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It was a journey of uncertainty;
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he who goes is considered lost,
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and he who returns is considered reborn.
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Therefore, the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, gathered
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his Companions,
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and stood among them to deliver a sermon.
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He praised Allah, extolled Him, and bore witness to His oneness,
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then he said:
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"To proceed:
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I wish to send some of you
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to the kings of the non-Arabs,
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so do not differ regarding me
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as the Children of Israel differed regarding Jesus, son of Mary."
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The Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
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"We are ready, O Messenger of Allah;
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we will carry out what you desire on your behalf,
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so send us wherever you wish."
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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, commissioned
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six of the Companions
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to carry his letters to the kings of the Arabs and non-Arabs.
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One of these six was
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Abdullah ibn Hudhafah al-Sahmi,
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for he was chosen to carry the letter of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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to Chosroes, the King of Persia.
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Abdullah ibn Hudhafah prepared his mount,
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bade farewell to his wife and child,
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and set out toward his destination,
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ascending the highlands
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and descending the lowlands,
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alone and solitary,
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with no one accompanying him but Allah,
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until he reached the lands of Persia.
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He requested permission to enter upon its king,
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and informed the entourage of the letter he carried for him.
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Upon that,
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Chosroes ordered his palace to be adorned,
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and summoned the nobles of Persia to attend his court, and they attended.
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Then he granted Abdullah ibn Hudhafah permission to enter.
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Abdullah ibn Hudhafah entered upon the master of Persia,
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wrapped in his simple cloak,
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wearing his coarse garment,
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possessing the simplicity of the desert,
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yet he was of high stature,
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with a firm posture,
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the pride of Islam burning within his heart,
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and the dignity of faith kindled in his soul.
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As soon as Chosroes saw him approaching,
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he gestured to one of his men
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to take the letter from his hand.
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But he said: "No,
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for the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, commanded me
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to hand it to you directly,
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and I will not disobey a command of the Messenger of Allah."
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Chosroes said to his men:
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"Let him approach me."
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So he approached Chosroes until he handed him the letter by hand.
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Then Chosroes summoned an Arab scribe from al-Hirah,
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and ordered him to open the letter before him,
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and to read it to him.
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It read:
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"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah,
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to Chosroes, the Great King of Persia."
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“So go ye unto him and say: Lo! we are two messengers of thy Lord. So let the children of Israel go with us, and torment them not. We bring thee a token from thy Lord. And peace will be for him who followeth right guidance.” (20:47)
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As soon as Chosroes heard this much of the letter,
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the fire of rage ignited in his chest,
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his face reddened,
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and his veins swelled.
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And the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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had begun with himself [in the letter].
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He snatched the letter from the hands of his scribe,
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and began to tear it to pieces
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without knowing what was in it,
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while shouting:
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"Does he write to me like this, when he is my servant?"
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Then he ordered Abdullah ibn Hudhafah
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to be expelled from his court,
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and he was expelled.
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Abdullah ibn Hudhafah left
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the court of Chosroes
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not knowing what Allah would decree for him,
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whether he would be killed or left free to go.
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But he soon said:
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"By Allah, I do not care what happens to me
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after I have delivered the letter of the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him."
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He mounted his camel and departed.
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When Chosroes’ anger subsided,
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he ordered that Abdullah be brought back to him,
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but he was not found.
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They searched for him but could find no trace of him.
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They pursued him on the road to the Arabian Peninsula,
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but found that he had already passed.
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When Abdullah arrived before the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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he informed him of what had happened with Chosroes
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and his tearing of the letter.
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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said nothing more than:
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"May Allah tear his kingdom apart."
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As for Chosroes, he had written to Badhan,
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his deputy in Yemen,
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to send to this man who had appeared in the Hijaz
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two strong men from among you,
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and order them to bring him to me.
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So Badhan sent two of his best men to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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and entrusted them with a letter for him,
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ordering him to leave with them to meet Chosroes without delay.
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He also asked the two men to investigate the news of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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to examine his affair,
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and to bring him whatever information they could gather.
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The two men set out, traveling quickly until they reached Ta'if,
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where they found merchants from Quraysh.
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They asked them about Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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and they said: "He is in Yathrib."
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Then the merchants went to Makkah, happy and rejoicing,
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and began to congratulate Quraysh, saying:
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"Be comforted,
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for Chosroes has confronted Muhammad and spared you his evil."
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As for the two men,
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they turned their faces toward Madinah,
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and when they reached it, they met the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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and handed him the letter of Badhan,
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and said to him: "The King of Kings, Chosroes,
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has written to our king, Badhan,
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to send someone to bring you to him.
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We have come to you so that you may depart with us to him.
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If you comply,
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we will speak to Chosroes in a way that will benefit you and spare you his harm.
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But if you refuse,
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you know his power and his brutality,
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and his ability to destroy you and your people."
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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, smiled
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and said to them:
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"Return to your lodgings today,
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and come to me tomorrow."
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When they came to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, the next day,
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he said to them:
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"Have you prepared yourselves to go with us to meet Chosroes?"
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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to them:
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"You will not meet Chosroes after today,
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for Allah has killed him,
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having empowered his son, Shirawayh, against him,
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on such-and-such a night of such-and-such a month."
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They stared at the face of the Prophet,
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and astonishment appeared on their faces,
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and they said:
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"Do you know what you are saying?
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Shall we write this to Badhan?"
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He said: "Yes,
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and tell him:
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'My religion will reach as far as the kingdom of Chosroes reached,
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and if you embrace Islam,
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I will grant you what is under your control,
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and make you king over your people.'"
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The two men left the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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and arrived before Badhan,
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and informed him of the news.
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He said:
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"If what he said is true,
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then he is a Prophet,
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and if it is not so,
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then we shall see what to do about him."
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It was not long before he arrived to meet Badhan.
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The book of Shirawayh
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And regarding this, he says
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To proceed:
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For he has indeed killed Kisra.
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I did not kill him except to avenge our people.
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For I have sought the support of their noble ones.
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And the taking of their women as captives.
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And the plundering of their wealth.
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So when this letter of mine reaches you
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So, take the pledge of allegiance for me from those who are with you.
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No sooner had Badhan read the letter of Shiruyeh
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Until he cast it aside.
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And he announced his entry into Islam.
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And those who were with him from among the Persians in the lands of Yemen embraced Islam.
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This is the story of the meeting of ‘Abdullah ibn Hudhafah.
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to Khosrow, the King of Persia
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What, then, is the story of his meeting with Caesar, the emperor of the Romans?
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His meeting with Caesar took place during the caliphate of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him.
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He had an encounter with him that stands among the most remarkable of stories.
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In the nineteenth year after the Hijrah.
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Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, dispatched an army to fight the Byzantines.
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Among them was 'Abdullah ibn Hudhafah al-Sahmi.
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Caesar was the great ruler of the Romans.
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News of the Muslim army had reached him.
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And the sincerity of faith and the firmness of creed that they embody.
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And the willingness to sacrifice one’s own soul for the sake of Allah and His Messenger, peace be upon him.
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He then commanded his men that if they were to capture any of the Muslim prisoners, they should do such and such.
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That they should remain steadfast upon it.
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And that they should bring him to him alive.
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And it was the will of Allah that ‘Abdullah Ibn Hudhafah al-Sahmi should fall into the hands of the enemy.
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A captive in the hands of the Byzantines.
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So they carried him to their king.
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And they said, "This man is one of the Companions of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him."
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Those who were the first to embrace His religion.
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He had fallen captive into our hands.
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So we have brought it to you.
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The King of the Romans gazed at Abdullah Ibn Hudhafah for a long time.
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Then he hastened to him, saying:
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I am presenting a matter to you.
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He asked, "And what is it?"
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He then said
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I propose that you convert to Christianity.
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If you do that, you will have succeeded.
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I have set you free and honored your final resting place.
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The captive then replied with dignity and resolve.
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How far removed is that from reality!
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Indeed, death is a thousand times more beloved to me than what you are calling me to.
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Caesar then said
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I truly see you as a man of noble character.
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If you respond favorably to what I am proposing to you.
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I have made you a partner in my affair.
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And I have shared My sovereignty with you.
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The captive, bound in his shackles, smiled and said
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By Allah, even if you were to give me everything you possess
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And all that the Arabs possessed.
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to the extent that I would not renounce the religion of Muhammad, peace be upon him, for even the blinking of an eye.
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What have you done?
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He said, "If I were to kill you."
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He said, "You and what you desire."
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Then he ordered that he be crucified.
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And he spoke to his companions in the Roman tongue.
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Throw it near his hands.
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He was offered the chance to convert to Christianity, but he refused.
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He then said
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Place it near his feet.
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He was presented with the choice of abandoning his religion, yet he refused.
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At that point, he commanded them to refrain from him.
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And he requested that they take him down from the wooden cross.
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Then he called for a large cooking pot.
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Then he poured the oil into it.
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And it was raised over the Fire.
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until it reached an exorbitant price.
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Then he called for two prisoners from among the Muslim captives.
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He then commanded that one of the two be cast into it.
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Then it was cast.
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And so, his flesh began to crumble away.
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And his bones appear bare.
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Then he turned his attention toward ‘Abdullah Ibn Hudhafah.
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And he invited him to Christianity.
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He was even more reluctant to accept it than he had been before.
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When he despaired of him.
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He ordered that it be cast into the same cauldron into which his two companions had been cast.
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When he took him away, his eyes welled up with tears.
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The men of Caesar said to their king
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He had indeed wept.
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He assumed that he had succumbed to impatience.
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And he said, "Return it to me."
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When he stood before him.
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He presented Christianity to him.
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He refused it.
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He said, "Woe to you!"
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What, then, is it that has brought you to tears?
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He said, "What made me weep was that I said to myself..."
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You are now receiving this in this capacity.
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Then your soul will depart.
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I had long desired
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That I may have [a reward] equal to the number of [hairs] on my body.
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Whoever feels within themselves
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He received all of it within this capacity.
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in the cause of Allah
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Then the tyrant said
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Would you allow me to kiss your head, and I will let you go?
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Then ‘Abdullah said to him
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And likewise, on behalf of all the Muslims.
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He said
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And likewise, on behalf of all the captives among the Muslims.
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‘Abdullah said:
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So I said to myself
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An enemy from among the enemies of Allah.
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I would kiss his head, and he would release me.
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And concerning all the captives of the Muslims.
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There is no harm in that, Ali.
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Then he drew near to him and kissed his head.
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The King of Rome then ordered that the Muslim captives be gathered for him.
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And that they should hand them over to him.
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So they handed it over to him.
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‘Abd Allah Ibn Hudhafah came to ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him.
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And he informed him of his news.
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The Faruq (Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him) interpreted it with the greatest sense of joy.
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And when he looked at the captives, he said
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It is incumbent upon every Muslim to kiss the head of 'Abdullah Ibn Hudhafah.
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I shall begin with that.
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Then he stood up and kissed his head.
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It is incumbent upon every Muslim to kiss the head of ‘Abdullah ibn Hudhafah.
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And I shall begin with that.
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'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him.
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The head of 'Abdullah ibn Hudhafah