Part of Who am I? · Lesson 8 of 296

Learn about the companions, scholars, and notables | Who am I? | Episode No. (8) | Abu Ayoub Al-Ansari, may God be pleased with him

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0:00 Pause.
0:03 Learn about the Companions, the scholars, and the most exalted among them.
0:12 A new challenge: Who am I?
0:16 I am one of the Ansar, from the tribe of Banu al-Najjar.
0:22 I embraced Islam before the migration (Hijrah).
0:24 I witnessed the Pledge of al-'Aqabah.
0:26 I was present at Badr and all the battles alongside the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
0:32 And I was with the Rightly Guided Caliphs after him.
0:36 I witnessed the first Muslim campaign toward Constantinople.
0:41 When the Prophet, peace be upon him, arrived in Medina as a migrant,
0:48 the throngs of the Ansar received him with great warmth and welcome.
0:53 They would take hold of the reins of his she-camel, saying,
0:59 "Come, O Messenger of Allah, to the numbers, the equipment, and the protection."
1:04 He would excuse himself to them, saying,
1:07 "Leave her path, for she is under command."
1:11 Until he passed by the tribe of Banu Malik Ibn al-Najjar,
1:15 and al-Qaswa' (his she-camel) knelt down.
1:18 The Prophet, peace be upon him, dismounted from her.
1:22 I took his belongings and brought him into my house.
1:26 The Prophet, peace be upon him, said,
1:29 "A man is with his belongings."
1:32 So he stayed with me in my house,
1:35 until the room for the Mother of the Believers, Sawdah, may Allah be pleased with her, was built,
1:40 and the Prophet's Mosque was constructed.
1:44 When people spoke the slander (al-ifk),
1:47 regarding 'A'ishah, the wife of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
1:51 my wife said to me,
1:54 "Do you not hear what the people are saying about 'A'ishah?"
1:58 I replied, "Yes, and that is a lie."
2:02 "Would you have done such a thing?"
2:05 She said, "No, by Allah."
2:08 I said, "Then 'A'ishah, by Allah, is better than you."
2:13 Then the words of Allah the Almighty were revealed regarding us:
2:16 "Why, when you heard it,
2:19 did not the believing men and believing women
2:22 think well of their own people and say..."
2:26 “Why did not the believers, men and women, when ye heard it, think good of their own own folk, and say: It is a manifest untruth?” (24:12)
2:30 When I came to 'Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas,
2:34 may Allah be pleased with them both, in Basra,
2:37 he cleared his house for me and said,
2:40 "I shall treat you just as I treated the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him."
2:46 He was excessive in honoring me.
2:50 He asked, "How much debt do you owe?"
2:53 I said, "Twenty thousand."
2:56 So he gave me forty thousand and twenty slaves.
3:03 When I passed eighty years of age,
3:07 I prepared for battle in the path of Allah.
3:10 People tried to stop me due to my advanced age,
3:13 but I said, "I heard Allah the Almighty say:
3:18 'Go forth, whether light or heavy.'"
3:22 "And I find myself to be either light or heavy."
3:26 So they carried me.
3:28 I fought in the land of the Romans alongside Yazid Ibn Mu'awiyah,
3:32 seeking Constantinople.
3:35 But not long after engaging the enemy,
3:40 I fell ill with an illness that kept me from fighting.
3:44 Yazid came to visit me,
3:47 and he asked, "Do you have any need?"
3:50 I said, "Convey my greetings to the Muslim soldiers,
3:56 and tell them to push deep into the enemy's land as far as possible,
4:02 and to carry me with them,
4:04 and to bury me beneath their feet
4:07 at the walls of Constantinople."
4:11 The Muslim soldiers responded to my wish,
4:15 and they carried out my final request.
4:17 They charged at the enemy forces again and again,
4:21 until they reached the walls of Constantinople,
4:24 while they were carrying me with them.
4:27 And there, they dug a grave for me and laid me to rest within it.
4:32 So, who am I?
4:49 The best of generations in stance and example.
4:54 They followed the Messenger whenever he strove or spoke.
4:59 They were here, watering the clouds of our lives.
5:04 Stand up, for their memory is exalted among us.
5:10 They departed and left a question in the conscience:
5:15 Is there a star like them that has risen and shone?
5:20 They filled life with pride through their deeds,
5:25 and the world of humanity flourished through them.