Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 73 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (88) - Zaid bin Saanah, 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:
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"Portraits 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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Zayd ibn Sa'nah,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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Zayd ibn Sa'nah once sat
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with a gathering of leading
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Jewish rabbis,
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listening to a sermon by a scholar
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who was among the greatest of their rabbis,
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known as Ibn al-Hayyaban.
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This Ibn al-Hayyaban
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had arrived among them as an immigrant
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and resolved to take up residence
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with them in Yathrib.
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Zayd ibn Sa'nah was deeply captivated
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by the brilliance of the rabbi's discourse,
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the sincerity of his tone,
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the fervor of his faith,
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and his vast erudition in the Torah.
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Yet, as he was
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listening intently to him,
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he kept asking himself about the reasons
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that had prompted this scholar
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to abandon a land of trellised gardens,
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luxuriant shade,
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and flowing waters,
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driving him to traverse
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such vast distances
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only to spend the remainder of his life
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in Yathrib,
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far removed from his kin and homeland,
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away from his clan and dwelling.
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No sooner had Ibn al-Hayyaban finished
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speaking
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than Zayd ibn Sa'nah took the initiative,
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saying:
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"O venerable rabbi!
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You have indeed arrived in our land most welcome,
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and among us you shall find family.
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But what is it that drove you
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to leave the land of the Levant,
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about which our sacred scriptures
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speak so abundantly,
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praising the mildness of its climate,
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the sweetness of its water,
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the beauty of its meadows,
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and the abundance of its blessings?
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Was someone barring you from your religion,
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or standing between you
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and the observance of your rites?"
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The rabbi replied:
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"By Allah, the land of the Levant is indeed
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just as you have described,
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and far more than you have depicted:
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exquisite water, a mild climate,
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and an abundance of good things;
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nor were we ever unsafe there,
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but rather completely at peace.
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Nothing brought me out of it except
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the anticipation of the advent of a Prophet
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whose era has cast its shadow and whose time is near,
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and this pleasant town of yours
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has been designated as the place of his migration
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and the launching point of his mission."
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Zayd ibn Sa'nah asked:
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"Do you mean that
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Arab Prophet
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whom we find mentioned in our scriptures,
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and with glad tidings of whom we inform our children?"
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He answered, "I mean none other than him."
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Then the rabbi proceeded
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to speak to the people
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about the characteristics of the awaited Prophet,
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describing the signs of prophethood
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with which he would be adorned,
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exhorting the Jews to follow him,
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promising them immense good
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if they believed in him and gave him victory,
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and warning them of evil
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if they turned away from him and betrayed him.
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But Ibn al-Hayyaban
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did not live long thereafter;
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his appointed time soon arrived,
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and he passed away before realizing his dream
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of beholding the awaited Prophet,
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partaking in his mission,
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believing in his prophethood,
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and winning the honor of supporting him.
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Not long
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after the death of Ibn al-Hayyaban,
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reports began
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pouring into Yathrib one after another
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about the emergence of Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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and the growing number of his followers
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day after day.
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Thereupon, Zayd ibn Sa'nah rose up
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to remind his Jewish kinsmen
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of all that had been told to them
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by Ibn al-Hayyaban,
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urging them to investigate
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the matter of this Prophet
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whose coming they used to proclaim
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with joyous anticipation,
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and by whom they used to threaten the Arabs
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whenever the Arabs inflicted upon them
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any harm or brought upon them
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any misfortune.
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He tirelessly urged them
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to take the initiative toward him,
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lest anyone precede them
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to this immense good.
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Yet Zayd
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met from his Jewish people
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nothing but aversion and rejection.
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Soon he began to sense the fire
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of malice that began
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eating away at their hearts out of envy
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toward this Prophet,
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whose star was ascending
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and whose call was radiating brilliantly.
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Then the days began
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passing swiftly,
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and events unfolded in rapid succession,
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as caravans of the Emigrant believers
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from Mecca arrived in
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Yathrib with the warmest welcome,
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finding welcoming families in place of their own,
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and true brothers in place of their brethren.
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Suddenly, joyful tidings
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flooded the city
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that the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah
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be upon him, was approaching it,
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accompanied by his intimate companion
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and close friend, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq.
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Yathrib resounded
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with jubilation and shone with delight,
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and the people poured out
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in large crowds and singly
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to welcome the Prophet of guidance
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and mercy, peace be upon him,
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and his companion.
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At this, the Jews grew deeper in distress upon distress,
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and their chests were filled
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with resentment upon resentment.
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As for Zayd ibn Sa'nah,
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his situation was entirely different.
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Let us leave the floor to him
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so he may recount to us his story
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with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings
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of Allah be upon him.
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Zayd ibn Sa'nah said:
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"I scrutinized this newcomer,
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Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah,
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with the closest, most thorough examination,
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and observed him
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with the most meticulous and comprehensive tracking.
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Not a single sign
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among the signs of prophethood remained
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but that I recognized it in him
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and discerned it in his noble countenance,
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peace be upon him,
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after investigating him closely
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and gazing at him at length—
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except for two traits that I had not yet verified
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in him:
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the first was
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that his forbearance precedes his anger,
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and the second was
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that extreme insolence shown toward him
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only increases him
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in graciousness and mildness.
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So I sought to test these two
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characteristics until I could verify them in him.
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That came to pass when the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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came out one day
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from his apartments,
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accompanied by 'Ali ibn Abi Talib,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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A man mounted upon his camel stopped
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beside him,
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saying:
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'O Messenger of Allah!
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Indeed, a clan of mine in the village of Banu So-and-so
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have embraced Islam,
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and I had told them
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that if they entered Islam, Allah would shower
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His bounties upon them
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and grant them abundant provision.
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Yet no sooner had they done so than they were struck
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by a severe, devastating drought
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and an exhausting withholding of rain.
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And I fear, O Messenger of Allah,
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lest they leave Islam
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seeking worldly gain elsewhere,
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just as they entered it desiring it.
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So if you deem it appropriate to send
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something to relieve them,
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please do so."
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Thereupon, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, glanced
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at 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib,
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an inquiring look asking him
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about what funds he had available.
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'Ali replied,
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"Nothing remains with me of what came to us,
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O Messenger of Allah."
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Zayd Ibn Sa'nah recounted:
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"I seized this opportunity,
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stepped forward to the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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and said, 'O Muhammad!
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Would you sell me
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a specified amount of dates to be delivered at a fixed,
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agreed-upon future date, for such-and-such
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an amount of money?' He replied, 'Yes.'
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So I untied my purse
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and took out eighty
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mithqals of gold,
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handing them over to the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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He then gave the money to the man,
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saying, 'Go and relieve your people
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with this money, and distribute it justly among them.'"
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Zayd Ibn Sa'nah continued:
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"When there remained
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a day,
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or two or three days before the term expired,
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I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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accompanied by
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Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and a small group
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of his Companions,
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having gone out to perform the funeral prayer over
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one of the Muslims.
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When they finished their prayer,
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the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, drew near
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a wall to sit beside it.
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I came up to him, grabbed him
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by the collar of his shirt and cloak,
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looked at him
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with a harsh, menacing glare,
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and said to him, 'O Muhammad!
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Will you not pay me my due?
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By Allah, I have never known you,
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O clan of 'Abd al-Muttalib,
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to be anything but procrastinators when it comes to repaying debts!
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And indeed, I know
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your ill nature better than anyone!'
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Then I glanced at those around him,
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and saw 'Umar's eyes
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rolling furiously in his face
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like rotating celestial spheres.
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He glared fiercely at me,
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and said,
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'Do you dare speak to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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in the manner I hear,
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and treat him as I see?
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By the One in Whose hand is my soul,
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were it not for my fear of
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depriving you of the chance to embrace faith,
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I would have struck off your head with my sword!'
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As for the greatest Messenger,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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he looked at me
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with utmost calm and composure.
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Then he turned to 'Umar and said,
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'O 'Umar,
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he and I
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were in greater need of something else from you:
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you should have
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urged me to repay handsomely,
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and urged him to demand courteously.
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Then he said to him,
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'Take him with you, O 'Umar,
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give him his full due,
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and grant him twenty additional sa's of
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dates for having frightened him.'
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'Umar's anger subsided,
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so he took me with him,
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gave me my full due,
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and added twenty sa's of
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dates. I asked,
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'What right do I have to this
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extra amount, O 'Umar?'
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He replied, 'The Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, ordered me
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to give it to you because
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I frightened you, so take it.'
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I asked, 'Do you know who I am,
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O 'Umar?' He replied,
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'No.' I said,
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'I am Zayd Ibn Sa'nah.'
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He asked,
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'The Jewish scholar?' I replied, 'Yes.'
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He said,
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'Then what drove you to do
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to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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what you did,
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and to say to him what you said?'
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I said, 'O 'Umar,
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there was not a single sign of prophethood
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except that I recognized it
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upon the face of the Messenger, peace be upon him,
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when I looked at him,
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save for two signs
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which I had not yet tested in him:
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that his forbearance precedes his anger,
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and the second,
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that intense provocation
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and foolish treatment
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only increase him in forbearance.
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Now I have verified both of them!
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So I call you to witness, O 'Umar,
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that I am well pleased with Allah as my Lord,
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with Islam as my religion,
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and with Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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as my Prophet.
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And half of my wealth
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is given in charity to the Ummah of Muhammad,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.'
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'Umar remarked,
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'Rather say: to some of them,
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for your wealth cannot encompass them all.'
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I said, 'To some of them.'
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Then 'Umar
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Ibn al-Khattab and Zayd Ibn Sa'nah returned
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to the Messenger, peace and blessings
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of Allah be upon him.
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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, asked,
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'What brings you both back?'
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Zayd replied,
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'I have returned to testify
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that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah,
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alone without partner,
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and to testify that you are His servant
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and His Messenger,
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the elite of His prophets,
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and the seal of His messengers.'"
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Ibn Sa'nah embraced Islam
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after deep reflection
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and careful examination
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of the accounts of the noble Messenger,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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Through Muhammad
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and his Companions,
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the exalted edifice was firmly established;
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so let the poetic verses overflow
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in praise of them,
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in praise of them.