Summary of the Prophet’s biography | Episode (109) | The duel and the descent of angels

0:00 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

0:03 Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

0:13 A Concise Summary of the Prophetic biography (Seerah).

0:17 Authored by Sheikh Musa bin Rashid al-Azimi.

0:22 May Allah preserve him.

0:25 The Duel.

0:31 When the Quraysh had settled on the battlefield,

0:35 they requested a duel.

0:37 Al-Hakim recorded in his Mustadrak with a sound (sahih) chain of narration,

0:41 on the authority of Ali Ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said:

0:45 Utbah stepped forward,

0:47 along with his brother Shaybah,

0:49 and his son al-Walid.

0:51 They asked, "Who will duel us?"

0:53 A group of young men from the Ansar stepped out.

0:56 Utbah said,

0:58 "We do not want them."

1:00 "Rather, let those who duel us be our cousins from the Banu Abd al-Muttalib."

1:05 The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

1:09 "Rise, Hamzah."

1:11 "Rise, Ubaydah."

1:13 "Rise, Ali."

1:15 So Hamzah stepped forward to face Utbah,

1:17 Ubaydah to face Shaybah,

1:19 and Ali to face al-Walid.

1:21 Hamzah killed Utbah,

1:23 Ali killed al-Walid,

1:25 and Ubaydah killed Shaybah.

1:27 However, Shaybah struck Ubaydah’s leg,

1:29 severing it.

1:31 Hamzah and Ali rescued him,

1:33 until he passed away at al-Safra'.

1:36 In a narration by Imam Ahmad,

1:38 in his Musnad with a sound chain,

1:40 Ali Ibn Abi Talib,

1:42 may Allah be pleased with him, said:

1:44 "Allah the Almighty killed

1:46 Utbah and Shaybah, the two sons of Rabi'ah,

1:48 and al-Walid Ibn Utbah,

1:50 and Ubaydah was wounded."

1:52 Imam al-Dhahabi said:

1:54 "The correct view is that the duel was between

1:56 Hamzah and Utbah,

1:58 and Ali and Shaybah."

2:00 And Allah knows best.

2:02 Al-Hafiz said in al-Fath:

2:04 "This is the most authentic of the narrations."

2:06 However, what is in the Seerah

2:08 is that the one who dueled

2:10 Ali, may Allah be pleased with him,

2:12 was al-Walid.

2:14 This is the well-known account,

2:16 and it is the most fitting for the situation,

2:18 because Ubaydah, may Allah be pleased with him,

2:20 and Shaybah were both elderly men,

2:22 like Utbah and Hamzah,

2:24 unlike Ali, may Allah be pleased with him,

2:26 and al-Walid,

2:28 for they were both young men.

2:30 Ibn Sa'd said in his Tabaqat:

2:32 "The established fact

2:34 is that Hamzah killed Utbah,

2:36 and that Ali killed al-Walid,

2:38 and that Ubaydah dueled

2:40 Shaybah."

2:42 The two Sheikhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim) recorded in their Sahih collections,

2:44 as did Ibn Majah,

2:46 with the wording belonging to Ibn Majah,

2:48 on the authority of Qays Ibn 'Abbad, who said:

2:50 "I heard Abu Dharr, may Allah be pleased with

2:52 him, swearing an oath

2:54 that these verses were revealed regarding

2:56 these six individuals on the day of

2:58 Badr:

3:00 ﴾These two opponents who disputed

3:02 about their Lord﴿

3:04 regarding Hamzah Ibn Abd al-Muttalib,

3:06 Ali Ibn Abi Talib,

3:08 and Ubaydah Ibn al-Harith,

3:10 and Utbah Ibn Rabi'ah,

3:12 and Shaybah Ibn Rabi'ah,

3:14 and al-Walid Ibn Utbah,

3:16 on the day of Badr, when they disputed

3:18 in their arguments."

3:20 Imam Ibn Jarir al-Tabari said:

3:22 "The most correct of these opinions

3:24 in my view

3:26 is the statement of those who said

3:28 that the 'two opponents' refers to

3:30 all the disbelievers,

3:32 of whatever type of disbelief,

3:34 and all the believers."

3:36 I say this

3:38 because it is the most correct,

3:40 for Allah, the Exalted,

3:42 mentioned before that

3:44 two categories of His creation:

3:46 one category being those who obey Him

3:48 by prostrating to Him,

3:50 and the other being those who disobey Him,

3:52 upon whom the punishment has been justified.

3:54 Then He followed that with

3:56 a description of both categories,

3:58 and what He will do with them.

4:00 If someone were to ask,

4:02 "What do you say

4:04 regarding what was narrated from Abu Dharr,

4:06 may Allah be pleased with him, concerning his statement

4:08 that it was revealed regarding those

4:10 who dueled on the day of Badr?"

4:12 The answer is:

4:14 "That is true, if Allah wills, as it was narrated from him,

4:16 but a verse may

4:18 be revealed for a specific reason,

4:20 and then be general

4:22 in every case that is similar

4:24 to that reason."

4:26 And this is one of those cases.

4:30 The Outbreak of Fighting

4:32 and the Prophet's Supplication

4:34 peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

4:36 to his Lord.

4:39 Then the battle intensified,

4:41 the people pressed forward,

4:43 they drew near to one another,

4:45 the mill of war began to turn,

4:47 and the fighting grew fierce.

4:49 The Messenger of Allah,

4:51 peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

4:53 began to beseech and implore

4:55 his Lord, the Almighty and Majestic.

4:57 Imam al-Bukhari recorded

4:59 in his Sahih

5:01 on the authority of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them,

5:03 who said:

5:05 "The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

5:07 said while he was in a shelter

5:09 on the day of Badr:

5:11 'O Allah, I beseech You

5:13 by Your covenant and Your promise.

5:15 O Allah, if You will,

5:17 You will not be worshipped after today.'"

5:19 Abu Bakr,

5:21 may Allah be pleased with him, took his hand

5:23 and said, "That is enough, O Messenger of Allah,

5:25 you have importuned your Lord."

5:27 In a narration by Imam

5:29 Muslim in his Sahih,

5:31 on the authority of Umar Ibn al-Khattab,

5:33 may Allah be pleased with him, he said:

5:35 "The Prophet of Allah,

5:37 peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, faced the Qiblah,

5:39 then stretched out his hands,

5:41 and began to call out to his Lord:

5:43 'O Allah, fulfill for me

5:45 what You have promised me.

5:47 O Allah, grant what You have promised me.

5:49 O Allah, if You destroy

5:51 this band of the people of Islam,

5:53 You will not be worshipped

5:55 on earth.'"

5:57 He continued to call out to his Lord,

5:59 stretching out his hands,

6:01 facing the Qiblah,

6:03 until his cloak fell from his shoulders.

6:05 Abu Bakr came to him,

6:07 took his cloak,

6:09 and placed it back on his shoulders,

6:11 then embraced him from behind

6:13 and said, "O Prophet of Allah,

6:15 your supplication is enough;

6:17 for He will surely fulfill for you

6:19 what He has promised you."

6:21 The Descent of the Angels.

6:25 Then the Messenger of Allah,

6:28 peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

6:30 dozed off for a moment,

6:32 then raised his head

6:34 and said:

6:36 "Rejoice, O Abu Bakr!

6:38 This is Jibril,

6:40 with dust on his front teeth,"

6:42 meaning on the hooves of his horse,

6:44 and dust on his head.

6:46 Imam al-Bukhari recorded

6:48 on the authority of Ibn Abbas,

6:50 may Allah be pleased with them, that he said:

6:52 "The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

6:54 said on the day of Badr:

6:56 'This is Jibril,

6:58 holding the head of his horse,

7:00 wearing his war gear.'"

7:02 Allah the Almighty said:

7:04 ﴾When you were seeking help of

7:06 your Lord, and He answered

7:08 you:

7:10 'I will

7:12 reinforce you

7:14 with a thousand angels

7:16 following in succession.

7:20 And Allah did not make it

7:22 but as good news

7:24 and so that your hearts

7:26 might be reassured by it.

7:28 And there is no victory

7:30 except from Allah.

7:32 Indeed, Allah

7:34 is Exalted in Might and Wise.

7:36 And the Almighty said:

7:38 "When your Lord inspired

7:40 the angels,

7:42 'I am with you,

7:44 so strengthen those who have believed.

7:46 I will cast into the hearts

7:48 of those who disbelieved

7:50 terror.'

7:52 So strike above

7:54 the necks and strike

7:56 from them every

7:58 fingertip."

8:00 Imam Muslim recorded in his Sahih

8:02 on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas,

8:04 may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:

8:06 "While a man from

8:08 the Muslims on that day

8:10 was pursuing a man from

8:12 the polytheists ahead of him,

8:14 he heard the strike of a whip

8:16 above him

8:18 and the voice of a horseman saying,

8:20 'Advance, Hayzum!'

8:22 He looked at the polytheist ahead of him,

8:24 and he fell flat on his back.

8:26 He looked at him,

8:28 and his nose had been branded

8:30 and his face split open,

8:32 as if struck by a whip.

8:34 The Ansar reported all of this,

8:36 and the Ansar man came

8:38 and told the Messenger of Allah,

8:40 peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, about it.

8:42 The Messenger of Allah,

8:44 peace be upon him, said:

8:46 'You have spoken the truth; that

8:48 was from the reinforcements of the third heaven.'"

8:50 The Prophet,

8:54 peace be upon him,

8:56 pelted the polytheists with pebbles.

8:58 When

9:01 Allah, glory be to Him, sent down

9:03 His angels,

9:05 the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

9:07 came out of the shelter

9:09 saying:

9:11 "And they will turn their backs in flight."

9:13 Then he took a handful of pebbles

9:15 and faced the disbelievers with it

9:17 and said:

9:19 "May the faces be disgraced!"

9:21 Then he threw them into their faces,

9:23 and there remained

9:25 not one of them

9:27 but that his eyes were filled with the pebbles.

9:29 Regarding this,

9:31 Allah the Almighty says:

9:33 "And you did not kill them,

9:35 but it was Allah who killed them.

9:37 And you threw not,

9:39 when you threw,

9:41 but it was Allah who threw."

9:43 Imam

9:45 Ibn al-Qayyim said:

9:47 "This verse is among the greatest miracles of the Prophet,

9:49 peace be upon him,

9:51 and the address in it

9:53 is specific to the people of Badr.

9:55 Likewise, the handful that the Prophet,

9:57 peace be upon him, threw

9:59 was caused by Allah,

10:01 glory be to Him, to reach all the faces

10:03 of the polytheists,

10:05 and that was beyond the power

10:07 of the Prophet, peace be upon him.

10:09 This is the throwing that He negated from him,

10:11 while affirming for him the throwing

10:13 that was within his human capacity,

10:15 which is the act of casting.

10:17 Likewise, the killing that

10:19 He negated from them

10:21 is a killing their hands

10:23 did not perform,

10:25 but rather the hands of the angels performed it.

10:27 One of them would be rushing

10:29 in pursuit of a horseman,

10:31 and suddenly his head would fall

10:33 before him from the strike of the angel."

10:35 He also said in Madarij al-Salikin:

10:37 "The point of the indication in the verse

10:39 is that He, glory be to Him,

10:41 established apparent causes

10:43 to repel the polytheists,

10:45 while He took charge of repelling them

10:47 and destroying them through hidden causes

10:49 other than the causes that appear

10:51 to people.

10:53 Thus, what occurred of defeat,

10:55 killing, and victory

10:57 was attributed to Him and by Him,

10:59 and He is the best of helpers."

11:01 A Summary

11:03 of the Prophetic biography.

Summary of the Prophet’s biography | Episode (109) | The duel and the descent of angels

Transcript