Part of Who am I?
· Lesson 108 of 296
Learn about the companions, scholars, and notables | Who am I? | Episode No. (108)
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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Pause and test your knowledge of the Companions, scholars, and prominent historical figures.
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A new challenge: Who am I?
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I am from the Ansar, one of the great leaders of Medina, and a chieftain of the Banu Salimah tribe.
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I was the last of the Ansar to embrace Islam.
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When Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived as an envoy to Medina
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to teach its people Islam, most of the people of Medina accepted the faith.
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The young men of Banu Salimah—including Mu'adh ibn Jabal and my own sons Mu'adh, Mu'awwidhang, and Khallad—
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had all embraced Islam, while I initially refused to accept it.
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Following the custom of the pre-Islamic Jahiliyyah, tribal leaders and nobles used to keep a private idol
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to worship in their homes; so I made an idol for myself in my home and named it Manaf.
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These young men, along with their mother Hind,
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feared that I might die in disbelief, while I was unaware of their conversion to Islam.
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Meanwhile, I feared that they would abandon the worship of our gods and enter Islam.
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These youths resorted to a clever ruse to demonstrate to me the foolishness of my attachment to these idols,
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which could neither bring benefit nor cause harm.
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Under the cover of night, they would enter the room where the idol was kept,
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take it, and throw it headfirst into the foulest pit of waste.
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In the morning, when I could not find my idol, I would search for it everywhere
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and ask my household, "Have you seen my god?"
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When I found it in that pit in such a miserable state, it distressed me deeply.
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So I would retrieve it, wash it, perfume it, and return it to its place.
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Yet they repeated this exact same act every single night.
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One day, I went in to see my idol Manaf,
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and said, "O Manaf, by Allah, you know well what these people intend toward you.
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Do you have any power to defend yourself?"
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I then hung a sword around its neck and said, "Defend yourself if there is any good in you,"
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and then I walked out.
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The youths came, took the sword, broke the idol,
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tied it to a dead dog,
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and tossed it into a dry, filth-ridden well.
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When morning came, I could not find my god.
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I searched for it until I found it in that well,
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and I exclaimed, "By Allah, were you a true god, you would not be
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bound together with a dog at the bottom of a well!"
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Thereupon I embraced Islam, and my faith blossomed into complete devotion.
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Even before accepting Islam, I was known for my open-handed generosity,
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and Islam only magnified my generosity, noble character, and honor.
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Whenever people came to me asking for financial assistance,
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I would tell them, "Take all of this wealth,
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for it will surely return tomorrow."
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The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) once asked
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a group from my tribe:
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"Who is your leader, O Banu Salimah?"
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They replied, "Al-Jadd ibn Qays, though he is somewhat stingy."
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The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
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"And what disease is worse than stinginess?
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Rather, your leader is the fair, noble chieftain,"
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pointing to me. So, who am I?
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Share your answers with us in the comments below the video,
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and we will pin the correct answer in the comments
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when the next episode is released, Allah willing.