Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 79 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (94) - Anas bin Al-Nadr Al-Najari, 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
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portraits from the lives of the Companions,
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by Abd al-Rahman
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Ra'fat al-Basha,
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may Allah have mercy upon him.
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Anas ibn al-Nadr al-Ansari,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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Have you seen that star
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which had barely begun to shine
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in the sky of Islam
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before the hand of fate eclipsed it,
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while it was at its most
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brilliant and radiant?
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For he was raised by a family
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among the most noble of Arab families
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in lineage,
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the most honorable in mother and father,
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the most faithful in kindness to the Arabs
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during the Jahiliyyah,
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and the most sincere in devotion to Allah
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and His Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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in Islam.
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That is the beloved martyr and Companion,
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Anas ibn al-Nadr al-Ansari.
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And it is enough for Anas ibn al-Nadr
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in terms of glory, honor,
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and pride
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that a noble hadith was revealed concerning him,
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narrated by the two Shaykhs, al-Bukhari
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and Muslim,
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and that a noble Qur'anic verse was revealed concerning him,
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which the believers will recite until
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Allah inherits the earth and whoever is upon it,
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and which the devout will pray with
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in the hours of the night
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and at the edges of the day.
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Is there any pride after this pride
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that the necks of the ambitious might reach for,
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or that the hearts
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of the hopeful might yearn for?
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And is there, above this nobility,
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a nobility that the noble seek to attain?
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The hadith that
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was narrated regarding Anas ibn al-Nadr
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is a story among the most wonderful of stories,
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and the Qur'an that
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was revealed regarding him has a story
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that surpasses the previous one.
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As for the story of the hadith,
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it is that
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Anas ibn al-Nadr had a sister
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of great stature among the women
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of the Arabs, of esteemed
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status among her people,
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and she was al-Rubayyi' bint al-Nadr,
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known as Umm Harithah.
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This Umm Harithah
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had a son in
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the prime of his youth and the bloom of his life,
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who had attained perfection in intellect,
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sweetness in character,
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and loftiness in conduct and faith.
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The noble Messenger,
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may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him,
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saw him shortly before Badr,
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and he looked at him with tenderness and kindness
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and said to him,
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"How are you, O Harithah?"
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He replied, "I am a believer
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in Allah, truly."
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So he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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said to him, "Consider
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what you say, O Harithah,
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for every statement has a reality."
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He said,
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"O Messenger of Allah,
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my soul has turned away from the world,
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so I have kept my nights awake in prayer,
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and I have made my days thirsty
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through fasting,
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and it is as if I am looking at the people of the Fire
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burning in its flames,
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and crying out in its hell."
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Then he said,
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"Pray for my martyrdom, O Messenger of Allah."
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So the noble Prophet,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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prayed for him for that.
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Not long after that meeting
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between the Messenger, may the prayers
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and peace of Allah be upon him,
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and the young man,
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did Badr occur,
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and the call to arms was made.
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Harithah was the first horseman
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to mount his steed,
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and he was martyred.
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His mother, the elderly,
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bereaved woman, grieved for him deeply,
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and she came to the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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and said, "If Harithah is
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in Paradise, I will not weep
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for his loss nor grieve for his bereavement,
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but if he is in the Fire,
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I will weep for him as long as
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I have eyes that shed tears
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and a heart that burns."
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The noble Messenger,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to her,
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"It is not just one Paradise,
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O Umm Harithah,
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but it is many gardens,
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and Harithah is in the highest
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Firdaws."
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The dignified, bereaved
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old woman returned to her home,
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and she began to wipe away her tears,
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suppress her anguish,
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console herself,
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and find comfort in the condolences
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of the people.
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While the noble lady
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from the Ansar was tasting
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the bitterness of suffering
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as she was,
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and enduring the agitation of emotions
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as she was,
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she was provoked by a slave girl
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belonging to a group of the people of Yathrib,
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and she could not help
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but strike her a blow
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that broke her front tooth.
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Then she regretted what she had done
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with the deepest regret.
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Her brother,
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Anas ibn al-Nadr, approached the girl's family,
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offering them the blood money.
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The notables of the people rose to them,
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hoping they would pardon her,
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but they refused them
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and insisted on complaining about her
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to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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When they complained to him,
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he ruled for retaliation against her,
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in implementation of the law of Allah
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and to ensure equality among the Muslims.
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Her brother,
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Anas, was stunned when he heard this and said,
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"Will the front tooth of Umm Harithah be broken,
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O Messenger of Allah?
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By the One who sent you with the truth, it shall not be broken!"
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The Messenger,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to him,
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"O Anas,
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it is the Book of Allah
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that decrees this."
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Before Anas could utter another word,
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the noble Messenger,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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looked at the girl's family,
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who were rigid and insistent,
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and they became softer than carded wool
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and smoother
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than soft silk,
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as if
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something hidden was pushing them
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away from what they had been upon.
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They turned to the Prophet,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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saying,
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"Yes, do not break her front tooth,
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O Messenger of Allah!
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Yes, do not break it!
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We have pardoned her, O Messenger of Allah,
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we have pardoned her,
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O most noble of the Prophets of Allah."
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So the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah
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be upon him,
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looked at Anas ibn al-Nadr kindly
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and said, "Indeed, among the servants of Allah
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are those who, if they were to swear
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by Allah, He would fulfill it."
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That is the story of the hadith
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that was narrated regarding Anas ibn al-Nadr.
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As for the noble Qur'an
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that was revealed concerning him, it has
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another matter. That is
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that he missed Badr
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for a reason that was not in his power
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to prevent, so it weighed heavily
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upon him that he did not witness with the Messenger,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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the first of the days of Allah,
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and this matter troubled him
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and grieved him,
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He began to reproach himself, saying,
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"Woe to you, Anas!
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How could you be absent from the first battle
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that the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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witnessed?"
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"Can you guarantee that you will live long enough
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to witness another day
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with the Prophet of Allah, peace be upon him,
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that equals Badr
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in merit and reward?"
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"By Allah, if my Lord honors me
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with a day where I encounter the polytheists,
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they shall see what I do."
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Anas,
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may Allah be pleased with him,
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intended to say more,
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but he was too awestruck to do so,
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and he remained silent.
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Not long after the vow
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that Anas Ibn al-Nadr had made to himself,
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the battle of
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Uhud took place—
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a day of testing for the Muslims,
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in which Allah purified
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the hearts of the sincere believers
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and brought forth on its fields
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the noble, blessed heroes,
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those who sought martyrdom
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and were destined for the highest gardens of Paradise.
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The Messenger,
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may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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endured great hardship and harm therein;
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he was pelted with stones,
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cast into a pit,
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his face was wounded,
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his lips were cut, and his blood flowed.
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The alarmists spread the rumor
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that he had been killed,
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and most of the Muslims
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and the mujahidin with him believed what was broadcast
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at that moment.
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Anas Ibn al-Nadr realized
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that the opportunity had arrived
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to fulfill what he had
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vowed to Allah, the Almighty.
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He looked out onto the battlefield
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and saw the Muslims
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having retreated from
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the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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while the polytheists
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surrounded him,
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intent on killing him
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and extinguishing the light of Allah
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with the edge of their swords.
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He said,
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"O Allah, I apologize to You
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for what these have done,"
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meaning the Muslims fleeing
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from the battlefield,
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"and I disavow before You what these have done,"
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meaning the attacking polytheists.
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Then he encountered
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'Umar Ibn al-Khattab nearby,
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who was agitated and anxious.
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He turned to him and asked,
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"What has the Messenger of Allah done, O 'Umar?"
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He replied,
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"I fear he has been killed."
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Anas said,
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"If Muhammad has died,
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then Allah is Ever-Living and does not die."
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Then he drew his sword,
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broke its scabbard,
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and threw himself into the thick of
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the battle, without doubt
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or fear.
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While he was rushing to meet
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the polytheists, he saw
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Sa'd Ibn Mu'adh nearby.
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He turned to him and said,
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"Paradise, O Sa'd!
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Paradise, by the Lord of al-Nadr!
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I can smell its fragrance from before
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Uhud." Then he went forth,
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looking back at nothing.
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Sa'd said,
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"I intended to follow him,
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to walk his path and do
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as he did, but
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I could not resolve to do what he
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resolved, nor could I do
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what he did." Then the battle cleared,
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and behold,
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Anas Ibn al-Nadr lay
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a martyr on the soil of Uhud,
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having sustained over eighty
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sword strikes,
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spear thrusts,
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or arrow shots.
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The malice of the polytheists toward him
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was such that they mutilated his body
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after he had died,
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leaving him unrecognizable,
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so that no one knew him
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except his sister, Umm Harithah,
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who recognized him only by his fingertips.
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Allah honored
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Anas Ibn al-Nadr al-Najjari,
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for He revealed a Qur'anic verse about him
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that the Muslims recited
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throughout the night and the day,
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and it will continue to be recited
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until Allah inherits
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the earth and everyone upon it.
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Allah revealed concerning him
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His words, the Almighty and Majestic:
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"Among the believers
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are men who have been true to
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what they pledged to Allah;
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of them are some
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who have fulfilled their vow,
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and among them
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are some who still wait,
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and they have not altered
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[their commitment] in the least."
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There is a noble hadith
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regarding Anas Ibn al-Nadr,
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and the Holy Qur'an
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was revealed in his honor.
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Regarding Muhammad and his Companions,
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the lofty structure has been built,
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O poet,
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so help me to speak at length
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in their praise; are they not
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the ones who have triumphed?