Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 76 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (91) - Ubadah bin Al-Samit, 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 upon him.
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'Ubadah ibn al-Samit,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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Our Companion this time
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is an Ansari, a participant in al-'Aqabah, and a veteran of Badr.
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It is enough distinction that he possessed these three great virtues,
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which are badges of honor and nobility in this world,
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and testaments of divine pleasure and nearness to Allah in the Hereafter.
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As for his father, he was named Al-Samit,
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his mother was called Qurrat al-'Ayn,
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and people knew him as 'Ubadah.
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And who among us, O assembly of Muslims, does not know 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit?
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For he is one of the pure and righteous who gave shelter and aid;
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he is one of the seventy-three who pledged allegiance at the Pledge of al-'Aqabah;
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and he is one of the veterans of Badr, whom Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, looked upon
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and said: "Do whatever you wish, for I have forgiven you."
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And if you add to that
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that he was one of five men who compiled the Qur'an during the lifetime of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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then he truly attained the pinnacle of honors,
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reaching the loftiest heights and the most exalted ranks.
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'Ubadah ibn al-Samit spent his life as a warrior striving in the cause of Allah, a devout worshipper, and a teacher.
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On the battlefields, he was a fearless lion,
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in the stillness of the night, he was a deeply devoted and sorrowful worshipper,
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and in times of peace,
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he taught the Muslims the Book of Allah
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and instructed them in the fiqh of Allah's religion.
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When Allah granted the Muslims victory and opened the lands of the Levant,
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they sought to open minds and hearts
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just as they had conquered strongholds and fortresses.
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So the governor of Damascus wrote to the Caliph of the Muslims, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, saying:
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"The Muslims in the lands of the Levant have grown numerous,
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and they are in need of someone to teach them the Qur'an
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and instruct them in the fiqh of the religion of Allah.
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So assist me, O Commander of the Faithful, with men who can teach them."
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Thereupon, 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, summoned
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the group of five who had compiled the Qur'an during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him:
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'Ubadah ibn al-Samit,
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Mu'adh ibn Jabal,
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Ubayy ibn Ka'b,
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Abu Ayyub al-Ansari,
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and Abu al-Darda',
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may Allah be pleased with them all,
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and may He grant them the most gracious reward on behalf of the Ummah of Muhammad, peace be upon him.
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When they stood before him,
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he said to them: "Your brethren among the people of the Levant
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have asked me to send those who can teach them the Qur'an
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and instruct them in what is lawful and unlawful.
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So help me, may Allah have mercy upon you, by sending three from among you;
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and if you wish, cast lots between yourselves."
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They replied: "We would never cast lots, O Commander of the Faithful;
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for Abu Ayyub al-Ansari is an elderly shaykh,
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Ubayy ibn Ka'b is an ailing man,
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and that leaves the three of us."
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So 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him and them, dispatched them
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to the lands of the Levant:
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'Ubadah ibn al-Samit settled in Homs,
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Abu al-Darda' took up residence in Damascus,
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and Mu'adh ibn Jabal stayed in Palestine.
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'Ubadah ibn al-Samit,
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when he pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him,
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on the night of al-'Aqabah,
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had pledged to hear and obey,
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to speak the truth wherever he might be,
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and never to fear the blame of any critic for the sake of Allah.
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So when he saw from the governor of the Levant,
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Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, may Allah be pleased with him,
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something that he could not accept,
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he confronted him over what he had observed and denounced it.
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But Mu'awiyah did not accept his view
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and demanded his compliance.
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Thereupon, 'Ubadah became angry and said:
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"By Allah, I shall never dwell in the same land as you!"
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and he turned around and went back to Medina.
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When he came before 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him,
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'Umar asked him: "What has brought you back, O 'Ubadah?"
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So he informed him of the disagreement between himself and Mu'awiyah.
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'Umar said: "Return to your post!
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May Allah dishonor any land in which neither you nor the likes of you reside."
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Then he wrote to Mu'awiyah, saying:
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"You have no authority over 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit;
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he is an authority unto himself."
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Later, 'Amr ibn al-'As marched toward Egypt as a conqueror,
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which was then under the rule of the Byzantines.
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He began liberating its cities and villages
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until he was held up by the Fortress of Babylon,
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situated on the bank of the Nile,
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near modern-day Cairo.
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The reason the fortress resisted him was
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that the Byzantines had dug a great trench around it,
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and had embedded iron caltrops along the roads leading to it
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to hinder the advance of infantry and cavalry toward it.
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They also packed it with soldiers and equipment,
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and brought into it their statesmen
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and the notables of the Copts from the people of Egypt,
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headed by the Muqawqis,
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the Patriarch and ruler of Egypt.
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'Amr ibn al-'As besieged the fortress,
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hoping that its defenders would grow weary of the siege
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and surrender to him.
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However, the Nile soon flooded,
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so the Byzantines breached the dykes and cut off the bridges,
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causing the water to surround the Muslims from every side,
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and they were nearly overwhelmed by drowning.
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At that point, 'Amr ibn al-'As wrote
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to the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab,
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requesting that he support him with reinforcements from his side.
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'Umar promptly reinforced him
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with four thousand Muslim soldiers,
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appointing over every thousand a commander
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who equaled a thousand men himself:
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'Ubadah ibn al-Samit,
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Al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam,
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Al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad,
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and Maslamah ibn Mukhallad.
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The Muqawqis learned of the reinforcements
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that had reached the Muslim army,
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so he sent to 'Amr ibn al-'As
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a delegation of his finest men
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to negotiate with them.
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He instructed them to observe closely
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the conditions of the Muslims,
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and to bring back a precise
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and clear portrait of their way of life,
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as though he were seeing it with his own eyes.
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The men of the delegation stayed
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as guests of the Muslims for three nights.
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When they returned,
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the Muqawqis asked them
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about what they had seen and heard.
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They said:
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"By Allah, we have seen a people
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to whom death is more desirable than life,
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and humbleness is dearer than high status.
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They sit upon the bare dust
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and eat while kneeling on their knees.
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Their commander is just like one of them;
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their master cannot be distinguished from his subordinate,
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nor their nobleman from the commoner.
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Whenever the prayer is called,
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not a single one of them stays behind;
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they wash their limbs and faces with water,
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and humble themselves devoutly before their Lord in prayer."
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The Muqawqis said:
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"By Allah, if these people were to confront the mountains,
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they would move them,
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and if they were to battle the jinn, they would destroy them."
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It was as if the Muqawqis wished
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to see with his own eyes
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what his men had described to him,
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so he wrote to 'Amr ibn al-'As, saying:
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"Send envoys from among you
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so that we may negotiate and make a treaty with them."
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So he sent ten of his men to him,
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placing 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit in command over them.
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'Ubadah ibn al-Samit was a tall man of imposing stature,
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with thick hair and an intensely commanding presence,
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filling anyone who looked upon him with awe and veneration.
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When he stepped forward to face the Muqawqis,
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the Muqawqis was struck with immense awe of him,
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and a great fear took hold of his heart.
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So he said to the members of the delegation:
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"Take this man away from me,
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and bring forward someone else to speak to me!"
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They replied: "This is our commander,
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and 'Amr ibn al-'As instructed us
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never to step ahead of him,
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nor to disobey any command of his."
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The Muqawqis then said to 'Ubadah:
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"Come forward, O man,
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and speak to me gently,
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for your appearance fills me with dread."
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'Ubadah said to him:
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"I see that you fear me,
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but what would you think if you saw my companions?
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Among them are a thousand men,
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every one of them far stronger and more formidable than I."
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The Muqawqis asked him:
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"What brought you out of your lands,
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and what do you want from us?"
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'Ubadah ibn al-Samit said:
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"By Allah, we have only set out
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seeking the pleasure of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic.
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Our Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, charged us
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that none of us should seek from this world
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anything more than what satisfies his hunger and covers his nakedness;
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for the pleasure of this world is no true bliss—
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true bliss is only the bliss of the Hereafter."
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The Muqawqis said to him:
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"I have heard your words,
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and by my life, you have only achieved what you achieved
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by virtue of what you mentioned;
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nor have you triumphed over those you defeated
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except because of their love for this world
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and your disdain for it.
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"However, the Romans have gathered against you
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numbers beyond reckoning,
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and we know well that you will never overpower them,
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given your few numbers and your severe poverty.
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Yet, we are willing
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to give each man among you two dinars,
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your commander a hundred dinars,
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and your Caliph a thousand dinars,
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provided that you depart from us
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before that strikes you which you have no power to bear."
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Thereupon, 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit said to him:
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"That with which you try to terrify us regarding the Roman multitudes
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will never deter us from our ultimate objective!
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Indeed, we are utterly certain of attaining
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one of the two best outcomes:
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for if we triumph over you,
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our worldly gain will be immense;
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and if you triumph over us,
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our reward in the Hereafter will be supreme!
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And know that there is not a single man among us
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who does not supplicate Allah after every prayer
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to grant him martyrdom,
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and not to return him to his family disappointed!
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Every single one of us
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has already entrusted his family and children to Allah's care."
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He then presented to al-Muqawqis the three choices:
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Islam, the jizyah, or fighting.
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But the people of al-Muqawqis refused Islam,
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and disdainfully rejected paying the jizyah.
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Thus, nothing remained except battle.
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At that point, the Muslims resolved to storm the fortress,
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no matter how steep the price might be.
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Then al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam stood up and declared:
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"I dedicate my soul to Allah, the Exalted and Glorious!"
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He took a tall ladder to scale the wall of the fortress,
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and instructed the Muslim soldiers
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to proclaim the takbir in unison after him
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as soon as they heard his takbir.
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It was only a matter of moments
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before that valiant knight
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was mounting the ramparts of the fortress,
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his sword drawn unsheathed,
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as the cry of "Allahu Akbar!"
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burst resoundingly from his mouth.
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Thousands of throats instantly echoed behind him,
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thundering: "Allahu Akbar!"
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Its reverberation shook hearts and shattered resolves.
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Al-Zubayr threw himself inside the fortress,
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and a contingent of the Muslim soldiers followed him,
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putting their swords to the necks of the Romans,
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who were entirely paralyzed by shock,
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and they threw open the gates of the fortress before the Muslims.
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Thereupon, the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, surged in,
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led at the forefront by 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit.
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The millstones of a fierce, grinding battle turned between the two sides,
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wherein Allah decreed victory for His soldiers,
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and the pearl of the world—Egypt—
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was joined to the realm of the Qur'an.
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"May Allah repudiate any land
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in which there is no 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit and his likeness!"
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'Umar ibn al-Khattab...
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With his companions, the towering edifice was breached.
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O poetry, assist in praising them!
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Is there anyone to lend aid?