Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 9 of 15
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (9) - Amr bin Al-Jamouh, 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 *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 on him.
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'Amr ibn al-Jamuh,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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'Amr ibn al-Jamuh
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was one of the pre-eminent chieftains of Yathrib during the Jahiliyyah,
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the undisputed leader of Banu Salimah,
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and one of the most generous men of the city,
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renowned for his chivalry and nobility.
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It was customary for the nobles during the Jahiliyyah
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to keep an idol in their private homes,
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seeking its blessing day and night,
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offering sacrifices to it on festive occasions,
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and turning to it for help in times of adversity.
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The idol of 'Amr ibn al-Jamuh was named Manat.
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He had fashioned it from the finest and most precious wood,
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and went to great lengths in tending to it,
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caring for it, and perfuming it with the most exquisite scents.
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'Amr ibn al-Jamuh had already passed sixty years of age
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when the rays of faith began illuminating the homes of Yathrib, house by house,
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through the efforts of the first emissary of Islam, Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr.
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At his hands, 'Amr's three sons embraced the faith:
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Mu'awwadh, Mu'adh, and Khallad,
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along with a companion of theirs of the same age, Mu'adh ibn Jabal.
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And alongside his three sons, their mother, Hind, also embraced Islam,
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while 'Amr remained completely unaware of their faith.
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Hind, the wife of 'Amr ibn al-Jamuh, saw
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that Islam had gained sway over most of the people of Yathrib,
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and that none of its prominent nobles remained in idolatry
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except her husband and a small band alongside him.
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She truly loved and respected him,
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and feared that he might die in disbelief,
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thus ending up in the Fire.
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At the same time,
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he himself feared that his sons might abandon the religion of their forefathers
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to follow this missionary, Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr,
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who had managed in a very short time
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to turn many people away from their ancestral religion
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and bring them into the religion of Muhammad.
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So he said to his wife, "O Hind,
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beware lest your sons meet with this man,"
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meaning Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr,
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"until we can form our own judgment about him."
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She replied, "I hear and obey.
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But would you be willing to listen to your son Mu'adh
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recount what he has heard from this man?"
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He said, "Woe to you! Has Mu'adh turned away from his religion
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without my knowledge?"
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The righteous woman felt pity for the old man,
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and said, "No, not at all;
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but he has merely memorized some of the words he says."
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He said, "Call him to me."
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When the boy came before him, he said,
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"Let me hear something of what this man says."
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So he recited,
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and 'Amr remarked, "How excellent this
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speech is, and how beautiful!
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Is all of his speech like this?"
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Mu'adh replied, "Even better than this, father!
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Will you not pledge allegiance to him,
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for your people have all pledged allegiance to him?"
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The old man was silent for a moment, then said,
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"I shall not do so until I consult Manat
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and see what he has to say."
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The youth said to him,
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"And what could Manat possibly say, father?
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It is merely mute wood that can neither comprehend nor speak!"
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The old man retorted sharply,
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then 'Amr ibn al-Jamuh stood up and went to Manat.
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Whenever they wished to speak to the idol,
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they would place an old woman behind it,
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who would answer on its behalf based on what it allegedly inspired her to say,
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or so they claimed. He stood before it,
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tall in stature, leaning upon
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his sound leg, for his other leg
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was severely lame,
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and praised it with the highest praise, then said:
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"O Manat, you no doubt
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know that this preacher who has
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arrived among us from Mecca intends
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no harm to anyone other than you, and that
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he has only come to forbid us from worshipping you.
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I was reluctant to pledge allegiance to him—despite
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the beauty of the words I heard—until
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I had consulted you, so advise me."
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But Manat did not give him any answer.
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He said, "Perhaps you are angry, though I have not done
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anything to displease you yet. But
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no matter; I will leave you for a few days
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until your anger subsides."
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The sons of 'Amr ibn al-Jamuh knew
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the depth of their father's devotion to his idol, Manat,
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and how, with time, it had become almost an inseparable part
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of him. Yet they realized that
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its standing had begun to waver in his heart,
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and that they had to uproot it completely from his soul,
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as that was his only path to
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faith. Under the cover of night, the sons of 'Amr ibn al-Jamuh set out
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with their friend Mu'adh ibn Jabal to where
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Manat stood. They carried it away
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and took it to a pit belonging to Banu Salimah
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where they used to dump their filth.
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They threw it in and returned to
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their homes without anyone noticing them.
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When morning came, 'Amr went to his idol
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to greet it, but could not find it.
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He cried, "Woe to you! Who has violated
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our god this night?"
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But no one answered him.
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So he began searching for it inside the house and outside,
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fuming, raging, and issuing threats
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and warnings, until he found it
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lying head down in the cesspit.
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He washed it, perfumed it,
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and restored it to its place,
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saying to it, "By Allah, if I only knew
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who did this to you, I would surely disgrace him!"
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When the second night came,
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the youths crept up on Manat again and did to it
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just as they had done the day before.
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When morning came, the old man looked for it
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and found it in the pit, soiled with filth.
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The youths continued to do the same
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to the idol night after night.
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When he finally ran out of patience,
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he went to it before going to sleep, took his sword,
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hung it around its neck, and said to it,
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"O Manat, by Allah, I do not know
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who is doing this to you, as you can see.
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If there is any good in you, then defend yourself;
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here is the sword with you!"
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As soon as the youths were certain that the old man
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had fallen into a deep slumber, they sprang
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upon the idol, took the sword from its neck,
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carried it outside the house,
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tied it to a dead dog with a rope,
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and threw both into an abandoned well belonging to Banu Salimah,
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into which impurities drained and collected.
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When the old man awoke and did not find
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the idol, he went out searching for it,
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only to find it cast face down in the well,
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tied to a dead dog,
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with its sword stripped away. He did not pull it out
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this time from the pit; rather, he left it
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right where they had cast it, and began reciting:
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"By Allah, had you truly been a god,
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you and a dog would not be bound together in a pit!"
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Soon after, he embraced the religion of Allah.
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'Amr ibn al-Jamuh tasted the sweetness of faith,
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which filled him with profound remorse
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for every moment he had spent in polytheism.
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He devoted himself to the new religion with body and soul,
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placing himself, his wealth, and his children
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in obedience to Allah and His Messenger.
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Before long, the Battle of Uhud arrived.
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'Amr ibn al-Jamuh saw
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his three sons preparing
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to meet the enemies of Allah,
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pacing back and forth like ferocious lions,
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glowing with a fervent yearning to attain martyrdom
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and achieve the good pleasure of Allah.
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This scene stirred his own zeal,
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and he resolved to march with them to jihad
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under the banner of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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But the young men were united
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in preventing their father from carrying out his resolve,
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for he was an elderly, advanced in years,
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and was, moreover, severely lame,
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and Allah, Exalted and Glorious, had excused him
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among those whom He excused.
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So they said to him, "O our father,
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Allah has excused you,
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so why burden yourself with that from which Allah has exempted you?"
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The old man became exceedingly furious at their words
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and went straight to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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to complain about them, saying:
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"O Prophet of Allah,
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these sons of mine want
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to hold me back from this great good,
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using the pretext that I am lame!
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Yet, by Allah, I truly hope to step
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into Paradise with this very limp of mine!"
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The Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, said
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to his sons, "Let him go; perhaps
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Allah, Exalted and Glorious, will grant him martyrdom."
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So they yielded, submitting to the command of the Messenger of Allah.
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When the time to march drew near,
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'Amr ibn al-Jamuh bid farewell to his wife,
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the farewell of one who would never return.
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He then turned toward the Qiblah,
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raised his hands to the heavens, and prayed:
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"O Allah, grant me martyrdom,
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and do not send me back to my family disappointed!"
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He then set out, surrounded by his three sons
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and a large contingent of his people, Banu Salimah.
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And when the heat of battle intensified
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and people scattered away from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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'Amr Ibn al-Jamuh was seen
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charging forward in the vanguard,
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leaping vigorously upon his sound leg,
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crying out, "Indeed, I yearn for Paradise!
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Indeed, I yearn for Paradise!"
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Behind him was his son Khallad,
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and the elder and his young son continued to fight fiercely
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until both fell dead as martyrs
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upon the battlefield,
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separated in death by only a few moments.
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No sooner had the war laid down its burdens
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than the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) went
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to the martyrs of Uhud
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to lay them to rest in their graves.
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He said to his Companions,
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"Leave them shrouded in their blood and wounds,
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for I am a witness over them."
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Then he said, "No Muslim is wounded in the cause of Allah
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but that he will come on the Day of Resurrection bleeding,
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its color the color of saffron,
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and its scent the scent of musk."
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Then he said, "Bury 'Amr Ibn al-Jamuh
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alongside 'Abdullah Ibn 'Amr,
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for they loved one another
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with pure devotion in this world."
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May Allah be pleased with 'Amr Ibn al-Jamuh
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and his companions among the martyrs of Uhud,
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and may He illuminate their graves for them.
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'Amr Ibn al-Jamuh was
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an elderly man who was determined to tread
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with his limp in Paradise.