Part of Glimpses from the Lives of the Tabi‘un (the Successors) (series completed)
· Lesson 24 of 37
Pictures from the lives of the followers | D. Abdul Rahman Raafat Al-Basha | Episode (24) | Silah bin Ashim Al-Adawi, may God have mercy on 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 best of generations in their conduct and example,
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Following the Messenger whenever he strove or spoke.
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The Mawadda Association
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Presents:
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Portraits from the Lives of the Tabi'un
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By Dr. Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
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May Allah have mercy upon him.
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Silah Ibn Ashyam al-'Adawi,
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May Allah have mercy upon him.
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Silah Ibn Ashyam al-'Adawi:
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A worshiper among the worshipers of the night,
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And a knight among the knights of the day.
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When the darkness would spread its curtains over the universe,
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And people would surrender their sides to their beds,
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He would rise and perform a perfect ablution.
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Then he would stand in his prayer niche and enter into his prayer,
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Becoming lost in longing for his Lord.
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A divine radiance would shine within his soul,
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Illuminating the horizons of the universe for his inner vision,
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And showing him the signs of Allah in the heavens and the earth.
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Furthermore, he was passionate about the Qur'an of the dawn.
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When the final watch of the night approached,
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He would bow his back over the parts of the Qur'an,
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And begin to recite the clear verses of Allah
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With a tender voice and a poignant tone.
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Sometimes he would find a sweetness in the Qur'an
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That would seize the depths of his heart,
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And captivate the innermost recesses of his mind out of fear of Allah.
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At other times, he would feel from the Qur'an
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A reverence that would shatter his very soul.
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Silah Ibn Ashyam never
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Slackened in this worship of his at all;
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There was no difference in that regard between his staying at home
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And his traveling, or his being busy and his being free.
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Ja'far Ibn Zayd narrated, saying:
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We went out with an army of the Muslim armies
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On an expedition to the city of Kabul,
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Hoping that Allah would grant us its conquest.
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Silah Ibn Ashyam was in the army.
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When the night let down its veils,
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And we were on the road,
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The soldiers set down their baggage,
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Ate some food,
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And performed the final evening prayer.
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Then they went to their resting places, seeking
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A share of rest.
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I saw Silah Ibn Ashyam
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Going to his resting place just as they did,
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And surrendering his side to sleep just as they did.
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So I said to myself,
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"Where is what they say about this man's prayer,
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And his worship,
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And what they report of his standing in prayer
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Until his feet would swell?
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By Allah, I will watch him tonight
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Until I see what becomes of him."
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No sooner had the soldiers drowned in their sleep
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Than I saw him wake from his slumber,
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Move away from the camp,
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Concealed by the darkness,
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And enter a dense forest
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Of towering trees
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And wild thickets,
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As if no feet had trodden there for a long age.
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I followed in his footsteps.
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When he reached a remote place within it,
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He sought the direction of the Qibla and turned toward it,
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Said the takbir for prayer,
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And became absorbed in it.
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I looked at him from a distance,
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And saw his face radiant,
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His limbs still,
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His soul tranquil,
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As if he found companionship in the wilderness,
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Nearness in the distance,
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And a shining light in the darkness.
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While he was in that state,
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A lion appeared to us from the eastern side of the forest.
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As soon as I caught sight of it, my heart was torn with terror.
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I climbed a towering tree
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To hide from its harm.
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The lion kept drawing closer to Silah Ibn Ashyam,
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While he was drowned in his prayer,
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Until it was only steps away from him.
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By Allah, he did not turn toward it, nor did he pay it any mind.
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When he prostrated,
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I said, "Now he will be devoured."
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But when he rose from his prostration and sat,
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The lion stood before him as if it were observing him.
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When he finished his prayer with the taslim,
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He looked at the lion in calmness,
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And moved his lips with words I did not hear.
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Suddenly, the lion turned away from him in peace,
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And returned from whence it came.
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When the dawn broke,
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He rose and performed the obligatory prayer,
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Then he began to praise Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,
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With praises the likes of which I had never heard before.
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Then he said,
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"O Allah, I ask You to protect me from the Fire.
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And would a sinful servant like me dare
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To ask for Paradise?"
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He kept repeating it until he wept and made me weep.
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Then he returned to the army without anyone noticing him.
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And to the eyes of the people, he appeared as if he had spent the night on soft cushions.
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I returned in his footsteps,
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Suffering from the wakefulness of the night, the exhaustion of the body, and the fear of the lion,
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To a degree known only to Allah.
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Silah Ibn Ashyam, along with all this,
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Would not let any opportunity for exhortation and reminding pass
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Without seizing it.
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His method in that was
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To call to the path of his Lord
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With wisdom and beautiful preaching,
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Thereby winning over alienated souls,
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And softening hardened hearts.
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Among these instances was that he would go out to the wilderness
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On the outskirts of Basra for seclusion and worship.
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A group of young men would pass by him,
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Who had given free rein to their youth,
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Playing, having fun, wandering, and frolicking.
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He would greet them with friendliness,
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Address them gently, and say to them,
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"What do you say about a people who have resolved to travel for a great matter,
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Yet during the day they deviate from the path to play and have fun,
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And at night they sleep to rest?
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When do you think they will complete their journey,
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And reach their destination?"
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He persisted in saying this time after time.
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Once, he met them,
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And said that statement of his to them.
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A young man among them stood up and said,
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"By Allah, he means no one but us!
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For we play by day and sleep by night."
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Then the young man separated from his companions,
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And followed Silah Ibn Ashyam from that day on,
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Remaining in his company until certainty (death) came to him.
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Also among these instances
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Is that he was walking one day with a group of his companions toward a destination of theirs,
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When a young man passed by them, in the prime of his youth and the freshness of his age,
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Who had let his garment hang so low that he was dragging it on the ground like the proud.
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His companions were about to confront the young man,
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And wanted to seize him severely with their tongues and hands.
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But Silah said to them,
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"Leave him to me; I will handle his matter for you."
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Then he approached the young man,
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And said with the gentleness of a compassionate father,
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And the tone of an intimate friend,
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"O son of my brother,
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I have a need of you."
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The young man stopped,
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And said, "What is it, O uncle?"
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He said, "That you raise your garment,
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For that is cleaner for your garment,
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More pious before your Lord,
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And closer to the Sunnah of your Prophet."
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The young man said in shyness,
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"Yes, and with pleasure."
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Then he hastened and raised his garment.
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Silah said to his companions,
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"This is better than what you intended.
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Had you struck him and insulted him,
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He would have struck you and insulted you,
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And kept his garment trailing, wiping the ground with it."
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Once, a young man from the youth of Basra came to him,
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And said,
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"Teach me, O Abu al-Sahba', from what Allah has taught you."
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Silah welcomed him warmly,
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And said,
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"O son of my brother, you have reminded me of a past I do not forget,
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When I was a young man like you,
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And I came to those who remained of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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And said to them,
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'Teach me from what Allah has taught you.'
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They said to me,
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'Make the Qur'an the protection of your soul and the spring of your heart,
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Seek advice from it and advise the Muslims with it,
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And supplicate to Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, as much as you can.'"
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The young man said to him,
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"Supplicate for me, may you be rewarded with good."
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He said,
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"May Allah, the Exalted, make you desire what remains,
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Make you ascetic toward what perishes,
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And grant you the certainty in which souls find rest,
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And upon which one relies in religion."
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Silah Ibn Ashyam had
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A cousin named Mu'adhah al-'Adawiyyah.
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She was also a Tabi'iyyah like him,
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Having met the Mother of the Believers, 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
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And learned from her.
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Then al-Hasan al-Basri met her,
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May Allah brighten his soul,
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And heard from her.
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She was pious, pure, a worshiper, and an ascetic.
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It was her habit, when the night approached, to say,
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"This might be my last night,"
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And she would not sleep until morning.
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And when the day dawned, she would say:
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"This may well be my final day."
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Thus, she would not allow herself any rest until evening fell.
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She would wear thin garments during the winter,
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so that the cold would prevent her from succumbing to sleep
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and becoming distracted from her worship.
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She would spend the night in prayer and recitation.
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And when drowsiness overcame her,
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she would stand and pace the house, saying:
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"O soul, a long sleep lies ahead of you;
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tomorrow your slumber in the grave will be long,
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either in regret or in joy.
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So choose for yourself today, O Mu'adhah,
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what you would wish to be upon tomorrow."
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Despite his intense worship and extreme asceticism, Silah Ibn Ashyam
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would never turn away from the Sunnah of his Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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He sought the hand of his cousin, Mu'adhah, in marriage.
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When the day came for her to be brought to him,
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his nephew took charge of the preparations.
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He took him to the bathhouse,
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and then led him to her in a perfumed room.
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Once they were alone together,
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he stood to perform the two Sunnah rak'ahs.
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She stood to pray behind him, following his lead.
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Then, the sweetness of prayer drew them both in,
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and they continued praying together until the dawn broke.
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When morning came,
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his nephew came to him and said,
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"O uncle, I brought your cousin to you,
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yet you stood praying all night and left her alone."
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He replied, "O my nephew,
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you brought me yesterday into a house that reminded me of the Fire,
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and then you brought me into another
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that reminded me of Paradise.
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My thoughts remained fixed on them until morning."
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The young man asked,
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"How so, uncle?"
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He replied,
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"You took me to the bathhouse,
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and its heat reminded me of the heat of Hell.
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Then you took me to the bridal chamber,
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and its fragrance reminded me of the fragrance of Paradise."
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Silah Ibn Ashyam was not merely a devout worshiper
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and an ascetic;
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he was also a valiant warrior
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and a heroic fighter.
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Rarely did the battlefields know a man of greater might,
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or stronger spirit, or sharper sword.
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So much so that the Muslim commanders would compete to have him in their ranks,
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each of them wanting to secure him for their army
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to reap, through his courage, the great victory they aspired to.
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Ja'far Ibn Zayd narrated:
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"We went out on an expedition, and with us were Silah Ibn Ashyam
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and Hisham Ibn 'Amir.
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When we encountered the enemy,
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Silah and his companion stepped forward from the ranks of the Muslims
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and plunged into the enemy lines, thrusting with spears and striking with swords,
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until they made a profound impact on the vanguard of the army."
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Some of the enemy commanders said to one another,
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"Two men from the Muslim army have brought all this upon us;
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what would it be like if they all fought us?"
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"Submit to the rule of the Muslims and pledge them your obedience."
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In the year 76 AH,
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Silah Ibn Ashyam went out on a campaign with the Muslim armies
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heading toward Transoxiana.
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His son was in his company.
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When the two armies met
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and the battle grew fierce,
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Silah said to his son,
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"O my son,
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go forward and fight the enemies of Allah
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until I count you as a martyr before the One with Whom no trust is ever lost."
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The young man set out to fight the enemy
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like an arrow released from a bow,
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and he continued fighting until he fell as a martyr.
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His father did nothing but follow in his footsteps,
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and he continued to fight until he, too, fell as a martyr beside him.
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When the news of their death reached Basra,
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the women went to Mu'adhah al-'Adawiyyah to console her.
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She said to them,
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"If you have come to congratulate me,
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then welcome.
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But if you have come for any other reason,
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then turn back, and may you be rewarded with good."
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May Allah illuminate these noble and generous faces,
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and reward them well on behalf of Islam and the Muslims.
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For the history of humanity has known none more pious or pure than them.
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Silah Ibn Ashyam learned from the great Companions,
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drew inspiration from them,
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and embodied their character.
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Al-Asbahani said:
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"The best of the flock, in standing and example,
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following the Messenger whether in action or word.
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They were here, watering the clouds of our lives,
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and their memory remains exalted among us.
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They departed, leaving a question in the conscience:
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Is there any star like them that has risen and shone?
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They filled life with pride through their deeds,
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and the world of humanity flourished because of them."