Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 31 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (46) - Asim bin Thabit, 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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Mawaddah Association is pleased
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to present to you snapshots 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 on him.
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'Asim ibn Thabit,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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Quraysh set out with their whole force, young and old,
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their nobles and their slaves, to confront Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah at Uhud.
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Malice filled their breasts to the brim,
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and the desire for revenge for those slain at Badr raged like a fire in their blood.
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Even this was not enough for them;
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rather, they brought along the noblewomen of Quraysh as well,
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to incite the men to fight,
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ignite zeal in the hearts of the warriors,
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and bolster their resolve whenever they wavered or showed weakness.
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Among those who went out with them were
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Hind bint 'Utbah, wife of Abu Sufyan;
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Raytah bint Munabbih,
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wife of 'Amr ibn al-'As;
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and Sulafah bint Sa'd,
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accompanied by her husband Talhah and her three sons:
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Musafi', al-Julas, and Kilab;
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alongside many other women.
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When the two forces met at Uhud
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and the fires of war began to rage,
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Hind bint 'Utbah and the women with her stood up
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and took their positions behind the ranks.
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Holding tambourines in their hands,
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they beat them while chanting:
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"If you advance, we embrace you,
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and spread out soft cushions;
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but if you retreat, we depart—
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a departure without love."
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Their chant ignited zeal in the breasts of the knights
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and worked like magic on the souls of their husbands.
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Then the battle drew to a close,
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and victory was decreed for Quraysh over the Muslims.
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The women stood up,
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inflamed by the fervor of victory,
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and began roaming through the battlefield ululating,
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committing the most horrific mutilations upon the slain.
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They ripped open bellies,
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gouged out eyes,
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and cut off ears and noses.
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Indeed, one of them was not satisfied in her rage
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until she fashioned necklaces and anklets from those noses and ears,
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adorning herself with them
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in revenge for her father, brother, and uncle who had been killed at Badr.
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But Sulafah bint Sa'd
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was in a very different state from her fellow Qurayshi women.
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She was anxious and distressed,
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waiting for her husband or one of her three sons to come to her,
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so she could learn their news
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and share in the joy of victory with the other women.
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However, her long wait proved to be in vain.
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She ventured deep into the battlefield
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and began searching among the faces of the slain,
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only to find her husband struck down, drenched in his own blood.
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She bolted like a panicked lioness
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and began casting her gaze in every direction, searching for her sons:
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Musafi', Kilab, and al-Julas.
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It was not long before she saw them laid out on the slopes of Uhud.
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As for Musafi' and Kilab,
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they had already passed away.
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As for al-Julas,
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she found him with a faint spark of life still remaining.
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Sulafah bent over her son as he suffered the agonies of death,
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placed his head in her lap,
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and began wiping the blood from his forehead and mouth,
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her tears dried up in her eyes from the horror of the tragedy.
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Then she turned to him, saying:
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"Who struck you down, my son?"
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He tried to answer her,
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but the death rattle prevented him.
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She persisted in asking him,
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so he said:
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"'Asim ibn Thabit struck me down,
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and he struck down my brother Musafi'."
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Then he drew his last breath.
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Sulafah bint Sa'd went mad with grief.
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She began to wail and sob,
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and swore by Allah and al-'Uzza
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that her anguish would not subside,
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nor would a tear dry from her eyes,
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unless Quraysh took revenge for her against 'Asim ibn Thabit,
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and gave her the skull of his head so she could drink wine from it.
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She then pledged to whoever captured him,
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or killed him and brought her his head,
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to give him whatever precious wealth he desired.
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News of her vow spread throughout Quraysh,
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and every young man among the youth of Mecca
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wished that he might overcome 'Asim ibn Thabit
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and present his head to Sulafah,
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in hopes of winning her prize.
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The Muslims returned to Medina after Uhud,
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and began reminiscing about the battle and what had transpired,
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asking Allah's mercy for the heroes who were martyred
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and commending the brave warriors who fought valiantly.
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Among those they mentioned was 'Asim ibn Thabit,
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expressing wonder at how he happened to slay three brothers from a single household
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among those he had brought down.
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One of them said:
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"Is there any wonder in that?
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Do you not remember the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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when he asked us shortly before Badr, 'How do you fight?'
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'Asim ibn Thabit stood up before him,
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took his bow in his hand, and said:
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'When the enemy is close to me—within a hundred cubits—
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the engagement is by shooting arrows.
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When they draw closer so that spears can reach us,
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there is thrusting until the spears break.
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When the spears break,
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we set them aside and draw our swords,
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and then comes hand-to-hand combat.'
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Upon this, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
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'This is how war is fought.
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Whoever fights, let him fight as 'Asim fights.'"
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Not long after Uhud,
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the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, dispatched
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six noble Companions
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on an expedition,
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appointing 'Asim ibn Thabit as their commander.
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The noble group set out to carry out what the Prophet, peace be upon him, had commanded them.
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While they were on the way, not far from Mecca,
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a group from the tribe of Hudhayl learned of their presence.
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They rushed toward them swiftly
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and surrounded them like a collar around a neck.
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'Asim and those with him drew their swords,
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intending to engage those who had surrounded them.
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The men of Hudhayl said to them:
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"You are no match for us,
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and by Allah, we intend you no harm
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if you surrender to us.
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You have Allah's covenant and pledge to that effect."
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The Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, began
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looking at one another,
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as if consulting on what to do.
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'Asim turned to his companions and said:
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"As for me, I will never descend under the protection of a polytheist."
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Then he remembered the vow that Sulafah had made,
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drew his sword, and prayed:
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"O Allah, I have protected and defended Your religion,
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so protect my flesh and bones,
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and do not let any of the enemies of Allah violate them."
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He then charged at the men of Hudhayl,
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followed by two of his companions,
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and they continued fighting
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until they were slain one after another.
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As for the rest of his companions,
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they surrendered to their captors,
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who shortly thereafter betrayed them in the most treacherous manner.
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At first, the men of Hudhayl
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did not know that 'Asim ibn Thabit
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was among those they had killed.
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But when they realized who he was,
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they rejoiced exceedingly
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and entertained hopes of a lavish reward.
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And no wonder—
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had not Sulafah bint Sa'd
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pledged that if she captured
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'Asim ibn Thabit,
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she would drink wine from his skull?
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Had she not promised whoever brought him to her,
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dead or alive,
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whatever wealth he desired?
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Only a few hours
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had passed since the death of 'Asim ibn Thabit
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when Quraysh learned of his killing,
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for Hudhayl were encamped
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near Mecca.
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The leaders of Quraysh dispatched
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an envoy from among them to 'Asim's killers,
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asking them for his head
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to slake the vengeful thirst of Sulafah bint Sa'd,
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fulfill her oath,
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and alleviate some of her grief
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over her three sons
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whom 'Asim had slain with his own hand.
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They entrusted the messenger with vast wealth,
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instructing him to offer it generously to Hudhayl
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in exchange for 'Asim's head.
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The men of Hudhayl went to the body of 'Asim ibn Thabit
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to sever his head from his body,
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but they were startled by swarms of bees
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and clusters of hornets that settled upon him
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and surrounded him from every side.
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Whenever they attempted to approach his corpse,
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the insects flew into their faces
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and stung them on their eyes, foreheads,
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and every part of their bodies,
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driving them away from him.
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When they despaired of reaching him
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after trying time and time again,
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some of them said to one another:
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"Leave him until night falls upon him,
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for when darkness descends, the hornets
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will leave him and grant you access to him."
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Then they sat waiting not far away.
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But no sooner had the day passed and the night drawn near
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than the sky became overcast with dark, thick clouds.
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Thunder roared and the storm raged,
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and torrential rain poured down incessantly,
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the likes of which the oldest elders had never witnessed
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since they first lived upon that land.
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Soon the mountain passes overflowed,
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the flatlands filled, and the valleys were submerged.
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A flood swept through the region like the legendary flood of the dam.
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When morning dawned,
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the tribe of Hudhayl set out searching everywhere for the body of 'Asim,
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yet they could find no trace of him.
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This was because the flood had carried him far, far away,
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taking him to a place unknown to them.
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Thus, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, answered
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the supplication of 'Asim Ibn Thabit.
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He protected his pure body from being mutilated
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and safeguarded his noble head from having wine drunk out of its skull,
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leaving the polytheists no way to triumph over the believer.
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"Whoever fights, let him fight as 'Asim Ibn Thabit fought."
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Muhammad Ibn 'Abdullah.