Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 11 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (26) - Osama bin Zaid, 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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Usamah ibn Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him.
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We are now in the seventh year before the Hijrah in Mecca,
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and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was enduring relentless persecution from Quraysh against himself and his Companions,
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bearing from them and from the burdens of the call
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what turned his life into an unbroken succession of sorrows and afflictions.
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Amidst all of this,
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a gleaming ray of joy illuminated his life:
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a bearer of good tidings came to him
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with the news that Umm Ayman had given birth to a boy.
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The features of his face, peace and blessings be upon him, beamed with delight,
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and his noble countenance glowed with joy.
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So who was this fortunate boy
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who brought so much happiness to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him?
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It was Usamah ibn Zayd.
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None of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was surprised
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by his profound joy over the newborn,
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owing to the dear place his parents held with him and their esteemed standing in his heart.
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The boy's mother
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was Barakah the Abyssinian,
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known by the kunyah Umm Ayman.
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She had been the bondwoman of Aminah bint Wahb,
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mother of the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him.
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She had nurtured him during Aminah's lifetime
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and took him into her maternal care after her death,
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so that he opened his eyes to this world
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knowing no other mother than her.
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He loved her with the deepest and most sincere affection,
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and he would often say:
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"She is my mother after my mother,
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and the last remaining member of my household."
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Such was the mother of this blessed boy.
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As for his father,
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he was the beloved of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him:
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Zayd ibn Harithah,
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his adopted son before Islam,
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his closest companion and confidant,
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one of his household, and the most beloved of people to him in Islam.
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The Muslims rejoiced at the birth of Usamah ibn Zayd
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as they had never rejoiced at the birth of any child,
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for whatever brought joy to the Prophet brought joy to them,
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and whatever pleased his heart delighted theirs.
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Thus, they bestowed upon the fortunate boy the title:
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"The Beloved, Son of the Beloved."
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Nor were the Muslims exaggerating
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when they gave this title to the young boy, Usamah,
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for the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, loved him
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with a love that the entire world would envy.
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Usamah was close in age to his grandson, al-Hasan ibn Fatimah al-Zahra'.
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Al-Hasan was fair-skinned, radiant, and strikingly handsome,
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bearing a profound resemblance to his grandfather, the Messenger of Allah;
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while Usamah was dark-skinned and flat-nosed,
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closely resembling his Abyssinian mother.
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Yet the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him,
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made no distinction between the two in love.
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He would take Usamah
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and seat him on one of his thighs,
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then take al-Hasan
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and seat him on the other thigh,
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then draw them both to his chest and say:
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"O Allah, I love them both, so love them."
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So great was the Prophet's love for Usamah
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that once, when the boy tripped over the doorstep
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and cut his forehead, causing blood to flow from his wound,
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the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, signaled
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to 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
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to wipe the blood from his wound.
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When she felt reluctant to do so,
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the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, got up and went to him himself,
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gently sucking the cut, spitting out the blood,
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and comforting him with words overflowing with sweetness and tenderness.
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Just as the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, loved
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Usamah in his childhood,
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he loved him equally in his youth.
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Hakim ibn Hizam,
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one of the notables of Quraysh, once presented
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to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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a precious robe
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he had purchased in Yemen for fifty gold dinars,
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which had belonged to Dhu Yazan, one of their kings.
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But the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, refused
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to accept it as a gift,
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because Hakim was an idolater at the time,
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and instead purchased it from him for its price.
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The noble Prophet wore it only once, on a Friday,
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and then bestowed it upon Usamah ibn Zayd,
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who would go out wearing it, walking proudly among his peers from the young men of the Muhajirun and the Ansar.
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When Usamah ibn Zayd reached maturity,
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he displayed such noble characteristics and splendid traits
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as made him truly worthy of the love of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
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He was exceptionally intelligent and sharp-witted,
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remarkably courageous,
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wise and discerning in putting things in their proper place,
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chaste, despising all baseness,
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sociable and easy to love, endeared to the people,
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and pious and devout, beloved to Allah.
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On the day of Uhud,
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Usamah ibn Zayd came along with a group of young boys from among the Companions,
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wishing to fight in the cause of Allah.
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The Messenger accepted some of them
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and turned back others because of their tender age,
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and among those turned back was Usamah ibn Zayd.
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He departed with his young eyes brimming with tears of sorrow
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that he could not fight beneath the banner of the Messenger of Allah.
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At the Battle of the Trench,
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Usamah ibn Zayd came once again,
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accompanied by a group of youths from among the Companions,
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and he began stretching himself upward
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so that the Messenger of Allah would accept him.
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The Prophet, peace be upon him, took pity on him and allowed him,
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so he bore the sword in jihad for the cause of Allah
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when he was only fifteen years old.
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On the day of Hunayn, when the Muslims were thrown into disarray,
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Usamah ibn Zayd stood firm alongside al-'Abbas, the Prophet's uncle,
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Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith, his cousin,
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and six other noble Companions.
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With this small, faithful, and valiant band,
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the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, was able
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to turn the defeat of his companions into victory,
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and to shield the retreating Muslims
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from being slaughtered by the polytheists.
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On the day of Mu'tah,
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Usamah fought beneath the banner of his father, Zayd ibn Harithah,
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while not yet eighteen years of age.
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He saw with his own eyes the martyrdom of his father,
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yet he neither faltered nor wavered;
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rather, he fought on beneath the banner of Ja'far ibn Abi Talib
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until Ja'far fell slain before his very eyes,
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then beneath the banner of 'Abdullah ibn Rawahah
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until he too joined his two companions,
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and finally beneath the banner of Khalid ibn al-Walid,
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until he rescued the small army from the clutches of the Byzantines.
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Usamah returned to Medina,
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surrendering his father to Allah's reward,
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leaving his pure body on the frontiers of the Levant,
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and riding the very steed upon which his father had been martyred.
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In the eleventh year of the Hijrah,
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the noble Messenger ordered the preparation of an army to invade the Byzantines,
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enlisting in it Abu Bakr, 'Umar,
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Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas,
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Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah,
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and other senior Companions.
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He placed Usamah ibn Zayd in command of the army,
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though he had not yet reached twenty years of age,
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and ordered him to lead the cavalry into the territory of al-Balqa'
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and the fortress of al-Darum near Gaza,
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in the lands of the Byzantines.
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While the army was making ready,
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the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, fell ill.
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When his illness worsened, the army halted
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waiting to see the outcome of the condition of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
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Usamah said:
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"When the illness bore heavily upon the Prophet of Allah,
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I went to him, and the people entered with me.
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I walked in to see him
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and found that he had fallen silent,
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unable to speak under the weight of the affliction.
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He began raising his hands to the sky
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and then placing them upon me,
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and I knew that he was supplicating for me."
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Shortly thereafter, the Messenger departed this life,
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and the oath of allegiance was given to Abu Bakr,
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who immediately ordered the dispatch of Usamah's expedition.
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However, a faction of the Ansar felt the expedition should be delayed,
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and they asked 'Umar ibn al-Khattab to speak to Abu Bakr about it,
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saying to him:
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"If he insists on proceeding,
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then convey to him on our behalf that he should appoint over us a man
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older in years than Usamah."
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No sooner had al-Siddiq heard the message of the Ansar from 'Umar
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than he sprang to his feet from where he sat,
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seized al-Faruq by his beard,
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and said in anger:
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"May your mother be bereft of you and lose you, O son of al-Khattab!
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The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, appointed him,
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and you command me to dismiss him?!
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By Allah, that shall never be!"
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When 'Umar returned to the people,
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they asked him what he had accomplished,
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and he said:
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"Move forward, may your mothers be bereft of you!
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I have suffered what I suffered from the successor of the Messenger of Allah on your account!"
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When the army set forth under the command of its youthful leader,
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the successor of the Messenger of Allah walked alongside him to see him off, while Usamah rode.
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Usamah said:
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"O successor of the Messenger of Allah,
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by Allah, you must ride or I shall dismount!"
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Abu Bakr replied:
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"By Allah, you shall not dismount,
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and by Allah, I shall not ride!
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What harm is there in dusting my feet in the cause of Allah for an hour?"
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Then he said to Usamah:
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"I entrust to Allah your religion, your trust, and the end of your deeds,
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and I charge you to execute that which the Messenger of Allah commanded you."
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Then he leaned toward him and said,
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"If you see fit, assist me by letting ‘Umar stay."
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So he permitted him to remain with me.
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Thus, Usamah permitted ‘Umar to remain.
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Usamah ibn Zayd proceeded with the army,
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and he carried out everything the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, had commanded him to do.
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He led the Muslim cavalry to the borders of al-Balqa’,
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and the fortress of al-Darum in the land of Palestine.
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He stripped away the awe of the Romans from the hearts of the Muslims,
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and paved the way before them for the conquest of the lands of the Levant, Egypt,
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and the entire North African coast, all the way to the Sea of Darkness.
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Then Usamah returned,
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riding the very horse upon which his father had been martyred,
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carrying spoils of war that exceeded the estimates of those who appraised them,
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to the point that it was said no army had ever been safer or more laden with spoils than the army of Usamah ibn Zayd.
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Usamah ibn Zayd lived on,
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a figure held in high esteem and affection by the Muslims,
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out of loyalty to the Messenger of Allah and in honor of his own person.
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For the Faruq (the Caliph ‘Umar) had allotted him a stipend,
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greater than what he had allotted to his own son, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar.
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‘Abdullah said to his father, "O my father,
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you have allotted four thousand to Usamah, while you allotted three thousand to me,
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yet his father did not possess more merit than you,
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nor does he possess more merit than I."
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The Faruq replied, "Far from it!
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His father was more beloved to the Messenger of Allah than your father,
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and he himself was more beloved to the Messenger of Allah than you."
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So ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar was satisfied with the stipend allotted to him.
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Whenever ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab would meet Usamah ibn Zayd,
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he would say, "Welcome, my commander."
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And if he saw anyone expressing surprise at this, he would say,
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"The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, appointed him as my commander."
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May Allah have mercy on those great souls.
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For history has never known anyone greater, more perfect, or more noble than the Companions of the Messenger of Allah.
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Indeed, the father of Usamah was more beloved to the Messenger of Allah than your father,
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and he himself was more beloved to the Messenger of Allah than you.
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From the words of the Faruq to his son.