Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 8 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (23) - Suhaib Al-Rumi, 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 "Portraits from the Lives of the Companions"
0:22
by 'Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
0:25
may Allah have mercy on him.
0:27
Suhayb al-Rumi, may Allah be pleased with him.
0:45
Suhayb al-Rumi.
0:47
Who among us, O assembly of Muslims, does not know Suhayb al-Rumi,
0:51
or is not acquainted with some of his accounts and fragments of his biography?
0:55
Yet what many of us do not know
0:58
is that Suhayb was not originally a Roman (Byzantine);
1:01
rather, he was of pure Arab descent,
1:04
with a Numayri father and a Tamimi mother.
1:07
The attribution of Suhayb to the Romans (Byzantines)
1:10
is a story that the memory of history still preserves
1:13
and its chronicles recount.
1:15
About two decades before the advent of the Prophetic mission,
1:19
the governor of al-Uballah—
1:21
an ancient city that was later incorporated into Basra—
1:24
was Sinan ibn Malik al-Numayri,
1:27
appointed by Khosrow, King of Persia.
1:30
His most beloved child to him
1:32
was a little boy not yet past five years of age,
1:35
whom he had named Suhayb.
1:37
Suhayb was fair-faced,
1:39
red-haired, and bursting with energy,
1:42
with two eyes radiating wit and brilliance.
1:46
Moreover, he was cheerful and of delightful spirit,
1:50
bringing immense joy to his father's heart
1:53
and dispelling from him all the heavy burdens of governance.
1:56
Suhayb’s mother set out with her young son
1:59
and a retinue of her attendants and servants
2:02
to the village of al-Thani in the land of Iraq,
2:04
seeking rest and recreation.
2:07
There, a raiding party from the Roman (Byzantine) army raided the village,
2:11
killed its guards, looted its wealth,
2:15
and captured its women and children.
2:17
Among those taken captive was young Suhayb.
2:20
Suhayb was sold in the slave markets of the Roman Empire,
2:24
passing from hand to hand,
2:27
moving from the service of one master to that of another,
2:30
just like the thousands upon thousands of enslaved people
2:34
who filled the palaces of the Roman lands.
2:38
This circumstance afforded Suhayb the opportunity
2:40
to penetrate deep into the Roman society
2:43
and examine it from within.
2:46
With his own eyes, he saw the vices that nested in its palaces,
2:49
full of depravities and ruinous sins,
2:51
and he heard with his own ears the injustices and transgressions committed therein.
2:56
Consequently, he despised and disdained that society,
2:59
often saying to himself,
3:01
"Nothing can purify such a society except a deluge!"
3:06
Even though Suhayb grew up in the Roman lands,
3:11
spending his youth on their soil and among their people,
3:14
and despite having nearly or entirely forgotten his Arabic,
3:18
it never slipped from his mind
3:21
that he was an Arab, a son of the desert.
3:24
His yearning never waned for a single moment
3:27
for the day he would be emancipated from his bondage
3:30
and rejoin his own people.
3:32
His longing for the land of the Arabs grew even stronger
3:37
when he heard a Christian priest
3:40
saying to one of his masters:
3:43
"The time has drawn near
3:45
for a prophet to emerge from Mecca in the Arabian Peninsula,
3:49
confirming the message of Jesus, son of Mary,
3:52
and leading people out of darkness and into light."
3:55
Later, an opportunity presented itself to Suhayb,
3:57
so he fled from the bondage of his masters
4:00
and set his face toward Mecca, the Mother of Cities,
4:03
the sanctuary of the Arabs and the birthplace of the awaited Prophet.
4:07
When he settled there,
4:10
the people called him "Suhayb al-Rumi" (Suhayb the Roman)
4:13
because of his foreign accent and his reddish hair.
4:16
Suhayb allied himself with one of the chieftains of Mecca,
4:19
'Abdullah ibn Jud'an,
4:22
and engaged in trade,
4:24
which brought him abundant fortune and vast wealth.
4:28
Yet Suhayb’s business and profits did not make him forget
4:32
the Christian priest’s prediction.
4:35
Whenever those words crossed his mind,
4:38
he would eagerly ask himself,
4:40
"When will that be?"
4:42
It was not long
4:44
before the answer arrived.
4:47
One day, Suhayb returned to Mecca
4:50
from one of his journeys,
4:52
and was told that Muhammad ibn 'Abdillah had been commissioned as a prophet,
4:55
and had arisen calling people to faith in Allah alone,
4:59
urging them to justice and benevolence,
5:02
and forbidding them from indecency and wickedness.
5:05
He asked, "Is he not the one they call al-Amin (the Trustworthy)?"
5:09
They replied, "Yes, indeed."
5:11
He asked, "And where can he be found?"
5:13
They told him, "In the house of al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam,
5:16
near al-Safa.
5:18
But beware lest anyone from Quraysh see you!
5:21
For if they see you, they will inflict terrible harm upon you,
5:24
since you are a foreigner
5:26
with no tribal allegiance to shield you,
5:28
nor any clan to come to your defense."
5:31
Suhayb set off toward the house of al-Arqam,
5:34
cautious and looking around warily.
5:35
When he reached it,
5:37
he found 'Ammar ibn Yasir at the door,
5:40
whom he had known previously.
5:42
He hesitated for a moment,
5:44
then approached him and asked,
5:46
"What do you want, 'Ammar?"
5:48
'Ammar replied,
5:49
"Rather, what do you want?"
5:51
Suhayb said,
5:53
"I wish to go in to this man
5:55
and hear what he has to say."
5:57
'Ammar said,
5:59
"That is precisely what I want as well."
6:01
Suhayb said,
6:03
"Then let us enter together, with the blessing of Allah."
6:06
Suhayb ibn Sinan al-Rumi
6:09
and 'Ammar ibn Yasir entered
6:11
upon the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
6:14
and listened to his words.
6:17
The light of faith shone brilliantly in their hearts,
6:20
and they competed to extend their hands in allegiance to him,
6:23
testifying that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah,
6:26
and that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger.
6:29
They spent the remainder of their day in his presence,
6:32
drawing from his guidance and delighting in his companionship.
6:35
When night fell
6:37
and movement subsided,
6:39
they slipped out from his presence under cover of darkness,
6:42
each carrying in his heart such radiant light
6:45
as would suffice to illuminate the entire world.
6:49
Suhayb bore his full share of persecution by Quraysh,
6:52
alongside Bilal, 'Ammar,
6:54
Sumayyah, Khabbab,
6:56
and dozens of other believers.
6:58
He endured such torment at the hands of Quraysh
7:01
that had it been cast upon a mountain, it would have crushed it.
7:03
Yet he met all of it
7:05
with a serene and patient soul,
7:08
knowing full well that the path to Paradise
7:11
is surrounded by hardships.
7:13
When the Prophet permitted his Companions
7:15
to emigrate to Medina,
7:17
Suhayb resolved to go
7:19
in the company of the Prophet and Abu Bakr.
7:21
However, Quraysh
7:23
sensed his determination to emigrate,
7:25
so they thwarted his plans
7:27
and placed surveillance over him
7:29
to prevent him from slipping out of their hands
7:31
and taking with him all the wealth
7:33
of silver and gold that his trading had brought him.
7:36
Following the emigration
7:38
of the Prophet and his companion, Suhayb remained behind,
7:40
watching for an opportunity to join them,
7:42
but to no avail,
7:44
for the eyes of the watchmen
7:46
stayed alert and vigilant over him.
7:48
Finding no way out,
7:50
he saw no alternative but to resort to a ruse.
7:52
One cold night,
7:54
Suhayb went out repeatedly
7:56
to the open ground
7:58
as if he were relieving himself.
8:00
No sooner would he return from answering the call of nature
8:02
than he would head right back out again.
8:04
So some of his watchmen said to one another,
8:06
"Rest easy,
8:08
for al-Lat and al-'Uzza
8:10
have afflicted him with an upset stomach!"
8:12
Then they retired to their beds
8:14
and surrendered their eyes to sleep.
8:16
Thereupon, Suhayb slipped away from among them
8:18
and set his face
8:20
toward Medina.
8:22
Shortly after Suhayb had departed,
8:24
his guards realized
8:26
what had happened.
8:28
They leaped up from their sleep in alarm,
8:30
mounted their swiftest steeds,
8:32
and gave them full rein in hot pursuit of him
8:34
until they overtook him.
8:36
When he sensed their presence,
8:38
he climbed up to an elevated position,
8:40
drew his arrows from his quiver,
8:42
strung his bow, and called out:
8:44
"O people of Quraysh!
8:46
By Allah, you well know
8:48
that I am one of the best archers among men,
8:50
and the most accurate in aim.
8:52
By Allah, you will not reach me
8:54
until I have killed with every arrow I possess
8:56
a man from among you!
8:58
Then I will strike you with my sword as long as
9:00
any part of it remains in my hand."
9:02
One of them replied,
9:04
"By Allah, we will not let you escape
9:06
from us with both yourself and your wealth!
9:08
You came to Mecca as a destitute pauper,
9:10
poor and penniless, but here you grew rich
9:12
and attained the status you have reached."
9:14
So he asked, "What do you say:
9:16
if I leave you all my wealth,
9:18
will you let me go on my way?"
9:20
They replied, "Yes."
9:22
So he directed them to the location of his wealth in his house
9:24
in Mecca, and they went off to it
9:26
and took it from him.
9:29
Suhayb then hastened
9:31
his pace toward Medina,
9:33
fleeing with his religion unto Allah,
9:35
without a single regret over the wealth
9:37
for whose accumulation he had spent the prime
9:39
of his life. And whenever
9:41
exhaustion overcame him
9:43
and fatigue wore him down,
9:45
his longing for the Messenger of Allah
9:47
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) spurred him on,
9:49
restoring his vigor
9:51
so that he pressed on with his journey.
9:53
And when he reached Quba',
9:55
the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw him,
9:58
beamed with joy, welcomed him warmly,
10:00
and said:
10:02
"The transaction has been profitable, O Abu Yahya!
10:04
The transaction has been profitable!"
10:06
repeating it three times.
10:08
Joy illuminated the face of Suhayb,
10:10
and he said, "By Allah,
10:12
no one could have preceded me to you,
10:14
O Messenger of Allah;
10:16
none could have informed you of this but Gabriel!"
10:18
Indeed, profitable was
10:20
the trade, confirmed
10:22
by revelation from the heavens,
10:24
and testified to by Gabriel,
10:27
as in the words of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic:
10:29
"And among the people
10:31
is he who sells himself,
10:33
seeking
10:35
the pleasure of Allah;
10:37
and Allah
10:39
is full of kindness
10:41
to His servants."
10:43
Blessed indeed
10:45
is Suhayb ibn Sinan ar-Rumi,
10:47
and excellent is his final abode!
10:49
"The transaction has been profitable,
10:53
O Abu Yahya!
10:55
The transaction has been profitable!"
10:57
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.