Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 71 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (86) - Salama bin Al-Akwa’, 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 glimpses 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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Salamah Ibn al-Akwa',
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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Has the news of Salamah Ibn al-Akwa' reached you?
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He was a marvel among the marvels of the age,
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and a rarity among the rarities of time.
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He was a runner who could not be outpaced,
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an archer who never missed,
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a daring warrior who knew no fear,
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and an adventurer whose endless
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tales of adventure
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read like accounts of heroism
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that might seem to you like legends.
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Yet they are not legends,
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for the two Shaykhs, Muslim and al-Bukhari, narrated them,
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and authenticated them in their two Sahih collections.
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Salamah Ibn al-Akwa' had wealth and property in Makkah,
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but he embraced Islam,
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migrated to Allah and His Messenger, peace be upon him,
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and left behind everything he owned.
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He began working in Madinah as a groom
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for the horse of Talhah Ibn 'Ubayd Allah,
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in exchange for his food.
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He desired nothing from this world
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other than a few morsels to sustain his strength,
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and to help him in the obedience of Allah
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and striving in His cause.
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Perhaps, dear listener,
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you have been stirred by a longing
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to hear a portion of the stories of this knight
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and to learn of some of his wonders.
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So here is a part of them.
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The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, set out
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with one thousand five hundred of his Companions,
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among them Salamah Ibn al-Akwa', intending to perform 'Umrah.
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When the news of his departure reached the Quraysh,
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they rose up to prevent him from reaching the Sacred House.
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So the Prophet, peace be upon him, stopped
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with those who were with him at al-Hudaybiyah,
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and he sent 'Uthman Ibn 'Affan to Makkah
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as an ambassador between him and the Quraysh.
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But the news soon arrived
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that the Quraysh had killed 'Uthman.
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The Messenger, peace be upon him, resolved
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to fight them,
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and he called upon the Muslims who were with him
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to pledge their allegiance to him for battle and death.
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Salamah Ibn al-Akwa' said:
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"When the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, called us
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to pledge allegiance to him at the tree,
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I was the first of the people to pledge allegiance to him.
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Then the Muslims began to pledge their allegiance,
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and when about half the people had pledged,
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he turned to me and said:
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'Pledge, O Salamah.'
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I said: 'I have already pledged to you, O Messenger of Allah,
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among the first of the people.'
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He said: 'And again.'
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So I pledged to him a second time.
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At that moment, the Prophet, peace be upon him, saw me
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without any weapons,
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so he gave me a shield to protect myself.
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Then the Muslims continued to pledge their allegiance,
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and when it reached the last of the people,
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he turned to me and said:
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'Will you not pledge to me, O Salamah?'
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I said: 'I have already pledged to you, O Messenger of Allah,
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among the first and in the middle of them.'
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He said: 'And again.'
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So I pledged to him a third time.
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Then he looked at my hand and said:
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'Where is the shield I gave you?'
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I said: 'O Messenger of Allah,
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my uncle 'Amir met me,
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and I found him unarmed,
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so I gave it to him.'
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The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, laughed."
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Salamah said:
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"Then the polytheists sent word to us for peace,
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and we and the people of Makkah made a truce,
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and we began to mingle with one another.
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I came to a tree, cleared the thorns from beneath it,
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and lay down in its shade.
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It was only a short while
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before four of the polytheists came to me,
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hung their weapons on the tree,
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and lay down near me.
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They began to speak ill of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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so I grew to hate them,
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and I moved away from them, fearing that I would be provoked
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and start a fight with them.
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While they were in that state,
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a caller shouted from the bottom of the valley:
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'O for the Muhajirun!
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The polytheists have killed Ibn Zunaym!'
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I drew my sword in my right hand,
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leaped upon their weapons,
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gathered them into a bundle in my left hand,
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and charged at them before they could rise,
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all in the blink of an eye.
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Then I confronted them, saying:
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'By the One who honored the face of Muhammad, peace be upon him,
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if any one of you raises his head,
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I will strike off his neck.'
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Then I bound them,
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tied them to one another,
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and brought them along, driving them
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to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him."
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Then the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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continued with his Companions,
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and with him was Salamah Ibn al-Akwa',
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until he reached Madinah.
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No sooner had he settled there for a while
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than he ordered his servant, Rabah,
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to go out with his camels
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to graze in the desert.
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Salamah decided to go out with him
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to graze the horse of Talhah Ibn 'Ubayd Allah as well.
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Salamah Ibn al-Akwa' slung his bow over his shoulder,
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carried his arrows,
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and set out with his companion
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until they reached a place north of Madinah
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called al-Ghar.
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They let their animals rest there,
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and spent the night there.
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In the last watch of the night,
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he awoke to a troop of Ghatafan horsemen,
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numbering forty riders,
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who had raided the camels of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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and driven them away,
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killing a son of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari
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who was with the camels.
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Salamah Ibn al-Akwa' said:
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"At that, I said to Rabah:
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'Take this horse and return it to its owner,
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and inform the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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that the polytheists have raided his camels.'
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Then I climbed a hill above Thaniyat al-Wada',
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faced toward Madinah,
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and called out at the top of my voice:
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'O morning alarm!' three times.
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Then I went out, running in pursuit of the people,
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until I was not far from them.
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I strung my bow,
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and shot one of them with an arrow,
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which lodged in his shoulder.
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I said:
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'Take that! I am Ibn al-Akwa',
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and today is the day of the young warriors.'
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Then I began to chase them, shooting at them and reciting verses.
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Every time they turned,
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they would leave behind some
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of the camels of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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so I would put them behind me and continue in their pursuit.
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If a horseman among them turned back to kill me,
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I would stop running,
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seek out a tree, and take cover behind its trunk,
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and begin shooting at him until he turned away from me.
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I continued to chase them
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until they entered a narrow path flanked by two mountains.
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I climbed one of them
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and began to rain down stones upon them from above,
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which fell upon them and in front of their hands and feet.
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I never ceased following them
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until not a single one of the camels of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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remained except that they had left it between me and them,
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and I had placed it behind me.
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But that did not deter me from pursuing them.
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They began to throw away their burdens to lighten their load,
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casting off more than thirty cloaks and thirty spears.
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Every time they threw something,
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I would mark it with stones
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so that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, could find it,
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and I left it behind me.
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Then I caught up with them, and exhaustion overtook me,
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so they sat down to rest and eat lunch,
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and I sat on the top of a mountain not far from them,
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watching them and keeping an eye on them.
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While they were in that state,
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a man from their people came to them,
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looked at what had befallen them,
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and said:
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'What is this that I see?'
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They pointed at me and said:
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'We have suffered from the misfortune of this man what we have suffered.
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By Allah, he has not left us since the early dawn,
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shooting at us
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until he took everything we had in our hands.'
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He said:
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'Let a group of four of you rise against him.'
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So four of them climbed up toward me.
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When they drew near to me,
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so that they could hear my speech,
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I said to them:
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"Do you know who I am?"
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They replied, "No."
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"And who are you?"
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I said,
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"I am Salamah Ibn al-Akwa'."
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"By the One who honored the face of Muhammad, peace be upon him,"
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"I shall not pursue any man among you but that I will overtake him,"
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"And no man among you shall pursue me and overtake me."
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One of them said,
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"I believe that to be true."
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Then they turned away from me.
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I did not leave my position,
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Until I saw the horsemen of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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Approaching from Medina.
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The first of them was al-Akhram al-Asadi.
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Following him was Abu Qatadah al-Ansari.
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And following him was al-Miqdad Ibn al-Aswad al-Kindi.
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No sooner did the group see them,
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Than they panicked and fled in retreat.
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Al-Akhram intended to pursue them,
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So I took hold of his horse's bridle,
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And stood in his path, saying to him,
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"Beware, O Akhram, of pursuing them,"
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"Lest they cut you off from us and isolate you."
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"Wait until the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, arrives,"
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"With his Companions."
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He replied, "O Salamah,"
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"If you believe in Allah and His Messenger, peace be upon him,"
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"And the Last Day,"
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"And you know that Paradise is true,"
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"And the Fire is true,"
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"Then do not stand between me and martyrdom."
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Salamah said,
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"So I let him go."
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He set off after them until he met the vanguard of the group.
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He hamstrung the leader's horse,
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But the man turned back upon al-Akhram,
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And struck him with a blow that brought him down.
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He fell, a fallen martyr.
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Salamah said,
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"By the One who honored the face of Muhammad, peace be upon him,"
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"I pursued them after that,"
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"Running on foot,"
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"Until I was separated from the Muslim horsemen."
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I could neither see them nor catch a glimpse of their dust.
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When the sun neared its setting,
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They wanted to turn toward a mountain pass,
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Known as Dhu Qarad,
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To drink from it.
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But when they saw me following them, they abandoned it.
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They did not taste a single drop of it.
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Then they sped off,
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Leaving behind two horses.
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I brought them to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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And found him and his Companions at the water I had driven them away from.
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The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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Had already taken the camels I had rescued from them,
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And had placed his hand upon every spear and cloak they had left behind.
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Bilal had slaughtered a camel,
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And was roasting for the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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Some of its liver and hump.
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Salamah said,
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"When morning came, we prepared to depart,"
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"And the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, let me ride,"
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"Behind him on his she-camel, al-'Adba'."
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I traveled with him until we reached Medina.
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How fortunate for Salamah Ibn al-Akwa',
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That he became the rider behind the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him.
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His body touched the body of the noble Prophet, peace be upon him.
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And how fortunate for Islam,
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To have such a bold and courageous youth.
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May Allah be pleased with Salamah Ibn al-Akwa'.
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The wonder among horsemen,
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And the one who outraced the finest steeds.
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Salamah Ibn al-Akwa' was among the most valiant of men,
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Outrunning horses, as the historians record.