Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (67) - Abdullah bin Rawahah, may God be pleased with him

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

0:15 The Mawaddah Association is pleased

0:17 to present to you portraits from the lives of the Companions,

0:22 by Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,

0:25 may Allah have mercy upon him.

0:29 Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah,

0:31 may Allah be pleased with him.

0:47 "I have sworn, O my soul, that you shall descend,

0:52 descend you shall, or you shall be forced.

0:55 Why do I see you loathing Paradise?

0:58 Are you but a drop of water in a leather skin?"

1:01 This stirring poem, laden with various emotions,

1:05 marked the end of the life of the noble Companion,

1:08 Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah,

1:10 and concluded the final chapter of his biography,

1:13 a life filled with heroism,

1:15 rich in noble deeds and glories,

1:18 and radiant with the light of piety

1:20 and the splendor of worship.

1:22 Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah was,

1:25 on the day the light of Prophethood dawned upon Makkah,

1:28 a master poet among the poets of Yathrib,

1:31 and a prominent leader among the leaders of the Khazraj.

1:34 No sooner did the call of guidance and truth reach him

1:38 than Allah expanded his breast to Islam,

1:41 so he dedicated his spear and his tongue to the obedience of Allah, the Almighty,

1:45 and to the pleasure of His Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

1:49 He defended the noble Prophet, peace be upon him,

1:53 with his poetry in the greatest and most powerful defense,

1:57 and he shielded his message with his eloquence,

1:59 the most sincere and effective defense.

2:02 Thus, Allah revealed concerning him and his companions,

2:05 Hassan Ibn Thabit and Ka'b Ibn Malik,

2:08 the special exception for the believers among the poets and the righteous ones,

2:12 for He, the Almighty, said:

2:14 "And the poets—[only] the deviators follow them;

2:23 Do you not see that in every valley they roam?"

2:29 “And how they say that which they do not?” (26:226)

2:37 Then Allah, the Exalted, made an exception

2:39 for Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah and his two companions,

2:42 saying, as the Most Truthful of speakers:

2:44 "Except those who believe and do righteous deeds

2:49 and remember Allah often."

2:52 “Save those who believe and do good works, and remember Allah much, and vindicate themselves after they have been wronged. Those who do wrong will come to know by what a (great) reverse they will be overturned!” (26:227)

2:57 Is there any honor more noble,

2:59 or glory more exalted,

3:01 than for Allah to reveal verses in the Quran regarding a person,

3:04 and for the description that Allah bestowed upon him to be recited

3:07 during the hours of the night and at the ends of the day,

3:10 and for its recitation to continue until Allah inherits the earth and whoever is upon it?

3:15 Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah witnessed the Pledge of al-Aqabah,

3:20 what a noble pledge it was!

3:22 And the noble Prophet, peace be upon him, appointed him

3:25 as one of the leaders whom he placed in charge of their people,

3:29 and what an excellent leader he was, and what an excellent commander!

3:32 From the moment the youth of the Khazraj embraced Islam,

3:35 he resolved to dedicate his entire life to the obedience of Allah,

3:39 so he spent his whole life in worship and striving,

3:43 standing in prayer by night and fasting by day.

3:46 Abu al-Darda', may Allah be pleased with him, reported of him, saying:

3:50 "I saw us with the Prophet, peace be upon him, on one of his journeys

3:55 on a day of intense, scorching heat,

3:58 to the point that a man would place his hand over his head from the severity of the heat,

4:03 and there was no one among the people fasting

4:05 except the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

4:08 and Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah."

4:11 Ibn Rawahah witnessed with the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, Badr,

4:16 Uhud, the Trench, al-Hudaybiyah, and Khaybar,

4:20 and what noble days those were,

4:22 and what magnificent stances!

4:25 In the eighth year of the Hijrah,

4:27 the Messenger, peace be upon him, sent

4:30 three thousand of the Muslim soldiers

4:33 to the land of the Levant (al-Sham)

4:35 to meet the Romans and test their resolve.

4:38 He appointed his freedman Zayd Ibn Harithah as commander of the army,

4:42 and said: "If Zayd is killed or wounded,

4:45 then the commander of the army is Ja'far Ibn Abi Talib;

4:48 if Ja'far is killed or wounded,

4:51 then the commander of the army is Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah;

4:54 and if Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah is killed or wounded,

4:57 then let the Muslims choose a man from among themselves

4:59 to appoint as their leader."

5:02 When the Muslim army prepared to depart from Madinah,

5:06 the people began to bid farewell to the Muslim soldiers in general,

5:10 and specifically to the commanders whom

5:12 the noble Messenger, peace be upon him, had appointed

5:15 over the army.

5:16 When they bade farewell to Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah,

5:19 he began to weep.

5:21 They asked, "What makes you weep, O Ibn Rawahah?"

5:24 He replied, "By Allah, it is not the love of this world that makes me weep,

5:28 but I heard the Messenger, peace be upon him,

5:32 reciting a verse from the Book of Allah in which he mentions the Fire,

5:36 where He, the Almighty, says:

5:38 “There is not one of you but shall approach it. That is a fixed ordinance of thy Lord.” (19:71)

5:44 “There is not one of you but shall approach it. That is a fixed ordinance of thy Lord.” (19:71)

5:50 So I became certain of the arrival,

5:52 meaning the passing over the Fire,

5:54 but I do not know how I shall fare after that in the departure,"

5:58 meaning, how to return from it.

6:00 When the army moved out,

6:02 the Muslims said,

6:04 "May Allah accompany you, protect you, and return you to your families."

6:09 No sooner did he hear their prayer that they return to their families

6:13 than he began to recite:

6:15 "But I ask the Most Merciful for forgiveness,

6:18 and a blow with a sharp sword that sprays foam,

6:22 or a thrust by the hand of a hot-blooded warrior,

6:26 with a spear that pierces the entrails and the liver,

6:30 so that it is said when they pass by my grave,

6:33 'May Allah guide the warrior, for he has indeed been guided.'"

6:37 When the army departed from Madinah,

6:40 Ibn Rawahah had riding behind him

6:42 an orphaned youth who lived under his care,

6:45 Zayd Ibn Arqam.

6:48 The youth heard him addressing his camel, saying:

6:52 "When you have carried me and borne my baggage

6:55 for a journey of four days after the heat,

6:58 then your task is done, be at ease, and you shall be free of blame,

7:01 for I shall not return to my family behind me."

7:04 The youth began to weep at his words,

7:07 so Ibn Rawahah tapped him with his whip and said:

7:10 "What is it to you, O little one,

7:12 if Allah grants me martyrdom,

7:14 and you return on this mount of mine to Madinah?"

7:18 When the Muslims reached the land of Ma'an in Jordan,

7:22 they learned that the King of the Romans

7:24 had encamped in the Balqa' region,

7:26 not far from them,

7:28 and with him were one hundred thousand fighters from the Romans,

7:31 and with them an equal number of Arab allies

7:34 from the tribes of Lakhm, Judham,

7:36 Quda'ah, and others.

7:38 The Muslims stayed in Ma'an for two nights,

7:41 and they began to weigh their small numbers

7:44 against the vast numbers of their enemy.

7:47 They said, "We shall write to the Messenger, peace be upon him,

7:51 and inform him of the situation;

7:53 then we shall proceed according to what he commands us."

7:56 But Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah said:

7:58 "O my people,

7:59 that which you seek, you have already attained!

8:02 We do not fight people with numbers or strength;

8:06 we only fight them with this religion

8:08 with which Allah has honored us.

8:10 So march on!

8:11 It is one of the two best outcomes:

8:13 either victory or martyrdom."

8:16 The army responded to what he called them to,

8:20 and began to prepare for the encounter with the enemy.

8:23 The following day,

8:25 the three thousand set out to meet two hundred thousand.

8:29 The two armies met at the village of Mu'tah.

8:32 Leading the Muslim army was Zayd Ibn Harithah,

8:36 the bearer of the banner of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.

8:40 He continued to fight until he was killed,

8:43 advancing, not retreating.

8:45 The Roman spears pierced his chest,

8:48 so Ja'far Ibn Abi Talib took the banner,

8:51 the brother of Ali, may Allah be pleased with them both,

8:54 and his equal in courage and valor.

8:57 He plunged into the battle as no one else had,

9:01 and when the battle grew fierce

9:03 and the pressure of the Romans upon the Muslims intensified,

9:06 he dismounted from his horse,

9:08 hamstrung it with his sword,

9:11 and plunged into the ranks of the Romans, reciting:

9:14 "How wonderful is Paradise and its approach,

9:17 pleasant and cool is its drink!

9:20 The Romans are Romans, whose punishment we have brought near,

9:23 disbelieving, their lineages are far removed.

9:26 Upon me, when I meet them, is to strike them."

9:29 Then he began to circle with his sword, right and left,

9:32 until his right hand was severed.

9:35 He took the banner with his left hand,

9:38 and continued to fight until his left hand was severed.

9:41 He took the banner with his chest and his upper arms,

9:44 and continued to struggle until he was killed.

9:47 At that point, Abd Allah Ibn Rawahah stepped forward

9:51 and took the banner after he had seen

9:54 the fall of his two companions at close range.

9:57 He began to address his soul, saying:

10:00 "O my soul, if you are not killed, you shall die;

10:03 this is the pool of death, you have arrived at it.

10:06 What you wished for, you have been granted;

10:09 if you do as they did, you shall be guided."

10:12 Then he looked at his two predecessors, the martyrs,

10:15 as they were drenched in their blood,

10:18 and his soul felt some trepidation at the situation,

10:21 and he hesitated for a moment.

10:24 So he spurred it on, saying:

10:27 "I have sworn, O my soul, that you shall descend.

10:30 Why do I see you loathing Paradise?

10:33 Are you but a drop of water in a leather skin?"

10:36 Then he carried the banner

10:39 and descended into the fray of battle.

10:42 Here, a cousin of his came to him with a bone

10:45 on which there was some meat,

10:48 and said to him, "Strengthen your back with this,

10:51 for you have not tasted anything for three days."

10:54 He took the bone from his hand,

10:57 However, he had barely seen the fallen Muslims

11:00 before him when he said,

11:03 "What a wretched man you are, O Ibn Rawahah!

11:06 Is all this happening while you are still eating food?"

11:09 He then cast the bone from his hand,

11:12 drew his sword, and plunged into the ranks of the Byzantines,

11:15 never turning back for anything.

11:18 He continued to fight until he fell as a martyr.

11:22 May Allah have mercy on Abdullah Ibn Rawahah.

11:25 He was true to His noble Messenger, upon him be the best of prayers and peace.

11:28 For he used to love the gatherings

11:31 that the angels boast about.

11:34 May Allah have mercy on Ibn Rawahah;

11:39 he loved the gatherings that are boasted of

11:42 by the angels.

11:45 Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

11:57 Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (67) - Abdullah bin Rawahah, may God be pleased with him

Transcript