Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 44 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (59) - Moaz bin Jabal, 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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Mawaddah Association is pleased
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to present to you snapshots from the lives of the Companions,
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written by 'Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
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may Allah have mercy on him.
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Mu'adh ibn Jabal,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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When the Arabian Peninsula shone with the light of guidance and truth,
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the Yathribite youth Mu'adh ibn Jabal was a young man approaching maturity.
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He distinguished himself among his peers by his sharp intelligence, persuasive eloquence,
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magnificent expression, and lofty ambition.
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In addition, he was handsome and good-looking,
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with dark kohl-like eyes, wavy hair, and gleaming white front teeth.
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He captivated the eye of anyone who looked at him and won over their heart.
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The youth Mu'adh ibn Jabal embraced Islam at the hands of the Meccan caller to Islam, Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr.
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On the Night of 'Aqabah,
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his youthful hand reached out, shook the hand of the noble Prophet, and pledged allegiance.
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For Mu'adh was among the group of seventy-two who set out for Mecca
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to enjoy the bliss of meeting the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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to have the honor of giving him their pledge,
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and to write the most glorious and radiant page in the annals of history.
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No sooner had the young man returned from Mecca to Medina
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than he and a small group of his peers formed a band to smash idols
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and remove them from the houses of the polytheists in Yathrib, both secretly and openly.
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As a result of the efforts of these young men,
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a prominent elder among the notables of Yathrib embraced Islam,
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namely 'Amr ibn al-Jamuh.
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'Amr ibn al-Jamuh was a chieftain among the chieftains of Banu Salimah
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and one of their most noble figures.
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He had acquired a personal idol carved from precious wood,
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as nobles were accustomed to do.
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The elder of Banu Salimah took utmost care of his idol;
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he would drape it in fine silk
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and perfume it every morning with fragrant oils.
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Under the cover of darkness, the young men crept up to his idol,
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carried it away from its place,
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took it behind the houses of Banu Salimah,
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and threw it into a pit where trash and refuse collected.
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When morning came, the old chief missed his idol and could not find it.
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He searched for it everywhere
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until he found it thrown face down in the pit,
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submerged in refuse.
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He exclaimed:
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"Woe to you! Who dared attack our god this night?"
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He then pulled it out, washed it,
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cleansed it, perfumed it,
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returned it to its place, and said to it:
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"By Manah,
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by Allah, if I knew who did this to you, I would surely humiliate them!"
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When evening fell and the old man went to sleep,
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the young men slipped back to his idol
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and did to it what they had done the previous night.
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He kept searching for it until he found it in another one of those pits.
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So he pulled it out, washed it,
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cleansed it, and perfumed it,
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uttering the sternest threats against whoever had attacked it.
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When they repeated this several times,
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he retrieved it from the town dump,
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washed it,
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and then brought his sword and hung it around its neck,
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saying as he addressed it:
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"By Allah, I do not know who is doing this to you that you see.
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If there is any good in you, O Manah,
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then defend yourself—
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here is the sword with you."
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When evening came and the old man fell asleep,
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the youths targeted the idol once more.
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They took the sword hanging from its neck,
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tied the idol to the neck of a dead dog,
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and threw them both into one of those pits.
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When morning broke, the old chief
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earnestly sought his idol,
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until he found it cast among the refuse,
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bound to a dead dog,
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thrown face down.
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At that moment, he looked at it and declared:
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"By Allah, were you a god, you would not have ended up
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joined with a dog in a pit, tied in a rope!"
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Thereupon, the chief of Banu Salimah embraced Islam, and his Islam proved sincere.
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When the noble Messenger migrated to Medina,
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the young man Mu'adh ibn Jabal attached himself to him
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like a shadow following its master.
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He learned the Qur'an directly from him
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and received the rulings of Islam at his hands,
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until he became one of the most proficient Companions in the Book of Allah
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and the most knowledgeable among them regarding His law.
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Yazid ibn Qutayb narrated:
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"I entered the mosque of Homs,
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and there I saw a youth with wavy hair,
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around whom people had gathered.
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Whenever he spoke,
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it was as if light and pearls were flowing from his mouth.
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I asked, 'Who is this?'
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They replied, 'Mu'adh ibn Jabal.'"
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Abu Muslim al-Khawlani narrated:
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"I came to the mosque of Damascus,
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and there was a circle containing mature men from the Companions of Muhammad,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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Among them was a young man with dark kohl-like eyes and gleaming white teeth.
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Whenever they disagreed on anything, they referred it to that youth.
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I asked a companion sitting next to me, 'Who is this?'
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He said, 'Mu'adh ibn Jabal.'"
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This is hardly surprising,
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for Mu'adh was raised in the school of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, from early childhood
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and graduated at his hands.
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He drank knowledge from its abundant springs
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and acquired wisdom from its purest source;
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thus he was the finest student to the finest teacher.
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It suffices as a testimony for Mu'adh that the Messenger, peace be upon him, said of him:
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"The most knowledgeable of my Ummah regarding the lawful and the prohibited is Mu'adh ibn Jabal."
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It is merit enough for him over the Ummah of Muhammad
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that he was one of the six individuals
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who collected the Qur'an during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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For this reason, whenever the Companions of the Messenger conversed while Mu'adh ibn Jabal was among them,
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they would look to him out of awe for him and veneration for his knowledge.
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The noble Messenger and his two successors after him placed this unique intellectual caliber
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in the service of Islam and the Muslims.
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Here was the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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seeing the crowds of Quraysh entering the religion of Allah in throngs
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after the Conquest of Mecca,
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and sensing the need of the new Muslims for a great teacher to instruct them in Islam
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and give them deep understanding of its laws.
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So he appointed 'Attab ibn Asid as his deputy over Mecca
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and retained Mu'adh ibn Jabal with him to teach the people the Qur'an
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and give them deep understanding of the religion of Allah.
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When the envoys of the kings of Yemen came to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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announcing their acceptance of Islam and that of their people,
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and asking him to send someone to teach the people their religion,
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he assigned a group of callers to guidance from among his Companions for this mission,
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appointing Mu'adh ibn Jabal, may Allah be pleased with him, as their leader.
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The noble Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, went out
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to bid farewell to this delegation of guidance and light.
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He began walking beside the mount of Mu'adh
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while Mu'adh was riding.
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The noble Messenger walked with him for a long time,
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as if he wished to take his fill of looking at Mu'adh.
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Then he advised him, saying:
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"O Mu'adh, you may not meet me again after this year of mine,
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and perhaps you will pass by my mosque and my grave."
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Thereupon, Mu'adh wept bitterly out of grief over parting from his Prophet and beloved, Muhammad, peace be upon him,
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and the Muslims wept along with him.
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The prophecy of the noble Messenger came true,
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for the eyes of Mu'adh, may Allah be pleased with him, never again delighted in seeing the Prophet, peace be upon him,
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after that hour.
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The noble Messenger passed away before Mu'adh returned from Yemen.
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No doubt Mu'adh wept when he returned to Yathrib,
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finding it desolate without the comforting presence of his beloved, the Messenger of Allah.
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When 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, assumed the Caliphate,
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he sent Mu'adh to Banu Kilab to divide their stipends among them
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and distribute the zakat collected from their wealthy to their poor.
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He carried out the task entrusted to him,
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and returned to his wife carrying only the coarse saddle-cloth he had left with, wrapped around his neck.
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His wife said to him:
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"Where is what you brought back, such as other governors bring home as gifts for their families?"
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He replied: "I had a vigilant inspector with me, keeping strict account of me."
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She said: "You were trustworthy in the eyes of the Messenger of Allah and Abu Bakr,
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and then 'Umar comes along and sends an inspector with you to keep strict account of you?!"
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She spread this rumor among the wives of 'Umar
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and complained to them about him.
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When word of this reached 'Umar,
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he summoned Mu'adh and said:
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"Did I send an inspector with you to keep account of you?"
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He replied: "No, O Commander of the Faithful,
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but I could find no excuse to offer her other than that."
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'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, laughed,
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gave him something, and said to him: "Satisfy her with this."
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During the reign of al-Faruq,
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his governor over the Levant, Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan, wrote to him saying:
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"O Commander of the Faithful,
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the people of the Levant have grown numerous and filled the cities,
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and they are in need of scholars to teach them the Qur'an
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and give them deep understanding of the religion.
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So assist me, O Commander of the Faithful, with men who can instruct them."
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Thereupon, 'Umar summoned the five individuals who had collected the Qur'an during the lifetime of the Prophet, peace be upon him:
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Mu'adh ibn Jabal,
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'Ubadah ibn al-Samit,
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Abu Ayyub al-Ansari,
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Ubayy ibn Ka'b,
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and Abu al-Darda'.
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He said to them:
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"Your brothers among the people of the Levant have asked me for help through scholars to teach them the Qur'an
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and give them deep understanding of the religion.
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So assist me, may Allah have mercy on you, with three of you.
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If you wish, draw lots among yourselves,
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or else three of you may volunteer."
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They said:
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"Why should we draw lots?
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Abu Ayyub is an old man,
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Ubayy is a sick man,
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and so the three of us remain."
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'Umar said:
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"Start in Homs;
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if you are satisfied with the condition of its people,
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leave one of you behind there,
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while one of you goes to Damascus
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and the other goes to Palestine."
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So the three Companions of the Messenger of Allah carried out
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what al-Faruq had commanded them in Homs.
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They then left 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit there,
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while Abu al-Darda' went to Damascus,
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and Mu'adh ibn Jabal proceeded to Palestine.
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And there,
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Mu'adh was stricken with the plague.
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When death approached him,
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he faced the Qiblah and began to repeat this chant:
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"Welcome, death, welcome!
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A visitor arriving after a long absence,
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a beloved returning to one who yearned for him."
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Then he began gazing toward the sky, saying:
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"O Allah, You surely knew
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that I did not love this world
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or a long life in it
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for planting trees or digging flowing rivers,
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but rather for enduring the thirst of scorching middays,
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struggling through the long hours of night worship,
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and pressing knee-to-knee alongside the scholars
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in the circles of remembrance.
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O Allah, accept my soul
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with the best acceptance You grant a believing soul."
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Then his pure soul departed,
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far away from his family and kin,
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calling people to Allah and emigrating in His cause.
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"The most knowledgeable of my Ummah regarding the lawful and the prohibited
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is Mu'adh ibn Jabal."
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— Muhammad,
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the Messenger of Allah.