Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (70) - Maysarah bin Masruq Al-Absi, 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 glimpses from the lives of the Companions,

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

0:25 may Allah have mercy upon him.

0:30 Maysarah ibn Masruq al-Absi, may Allah be pleased with him.

0:48 Here we are in Makkah,

0:52 three years after the mission of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, began.

0:57 And here is the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

1:02 to whom Jibril descends with the words of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic.

1:06 “So proclaim that which thou art commanded, and withdraw from the idolaters.” (15:94)

1:10 The Prophet, peace be upon him, learns

1:13 that a new phase of the call to Islam has begun,

1:18 and that he must transition from the stage of secrecy to the stage of public proclamation.

1:23 The Messenger, peace be upon him, hastened to carry out what he was commanded to do,

1:29 and began calling people to Allah openly,

1:32 after having spent three years calling them in secret.

1:36 He did not leave any of the Arab communities without approaching them,

1:41 nor any of their tribes without presenting himself to them,

1:46 asking them to shelter and protect him until he could convey the message of his Lord.

1:51 The Arab tribes would gather every year for about two months

1:56 at the markets of Ukaz, Majannah, and Dhu al-Majaz.

2:00 They would buy and sell, recite poetry in the assemblies,

2:05 boast of their noble deeds from the pulpits,

2:09 and have singing girls play music for them.

2:12 They would witness dancing and drink wine,

2:15 and when they finished their season,

2:18 they would proceed to the sacred places to perform their Hajj rituals.

2:23 The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

2:27 would seize the opportunity of that great season,

2:30 which brought together all the Arab tribes,

2:34 and would inquire about the tribes, one by one,

2:38 following them to their encampments, one by one,

2:42 and presenting his message to them.

2:44 He would mention to them how his own people had forsaken him,

2:47 and ask them to shelter and support him

2:49 so that he might convey the message of his Lord,

2:52 promising them Paradise in return.

2:55 Some would harm him with their tongues,

2:58 mocking and ridiculing him,

3:01 while others would harm him with their hands,

3:03 throwing stones at him,

3:05 or prodding his camel with a stick or the like,

3:08 causing it to shy away and stumble.

3:10 Others would turn him away with a degree of gentleness,

3:14 though they were few.

3:16 Despite the rejection he encountered,

3:19 he never grew weary, nor did he falter or slacken.

3:23 During one of these seasons,

3:26 the tribe of Abs had finished their trading,

3:29 then hurried to Mina to perform their Hajj,

3:33 and encamped at the first Jamrah,

3:35 near the Masjid al-Khayf.

3:38 The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, approached them,

3:42 riding his camel,

3:44 with his beloved Zayd ibn Harithah, may Allah be pleased with him, riding behind him.

3:48 The Banu Abs had heard of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

3:53 but had not yet seen him.

3:56 He stood before them and dismounted,

3:59 and began to bring them glad tidings and warn them of a painful punishment,

4:03 explaining to them the virtues of Islam,

4:06 and reciting to them whatever he could of the Qur'an.

4:10 He mentioned to them how the Quraysh had forsaken him,

4:13 and invited them to shelter and support him

4:16 so that he might convey the message of his Lord,

4:19 promising them Paradise.

4:21 Among the people was Maysarah ibn Masruq al-Absi.

4:25 He turned to his people and said,

4:28 "Come, O my people, let us shelter this man and support him.

4:32 By Allah, I have never heard words more radiant or more just than his."

4:38 A man from his tribe turned to him and said,

4:41 "Leave this aside, O Maysarah.

4:44 By Allah, the man's own people know him better than you do.

4:47 If there were any good in him,

4:49 they would not have cast him out and left him to offer himself to the tribes,

4:53 only to find none who would accept him."

4:56 Another interrupted him and said,

4:59 "Yes, stay away from him, O Maysarah.

5:02 By Allah, no man returns to his people with him

5:05 without returning with something worse than what the people of this season return with."

5:10 Maysarah replied,

5:12 "I swear to you by Allah,

5:14 the affair of this man will surely prevail until it reaches every corner.

5:18 So listen to my advice,

5:20 and shelter him and support him."

5:22 The Messenger, peace be upon him, felt hopeful about Maysarah,

5:26 approached him, and clung to his words.

5:29 Maysarah said to him,

5:31 "By Allah, I have never heard words better than yours before today,

5:36 nor have I been invited to a cause more just than yours.

5:39 But my people oppose me, as you see,

5:43 and a man is only as strong as his people."

5:46 About twenty years passed since that meeting of the group from Banu Abs

5:52 with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.

5:54 During that time, Allah granted victory to His servant,

5:57 strengthened His soldiers,

5:59 made the affair of His Prophet, peace be upon him, manifest,

6:03 and raised his mention in the East and the West.

6:06 Makkah was conquered for him,

6:08 and the Quraysh submitted to his rule.

6:11 The waves of Arab tribes who had not yet embraced Islam

6:14 began to arrive to him from every place,

6:17 group after group,

6:19 to embrace Islam at his hands

6:21 and pledge their allegiance to hear and obey.

6:24 Among those who came to him shortly before the Farewell Pilgrimage

6:29 was Maysarah ibn Masruq al-Absi.

6:33 When he stood before him

6:35 and bore witness to the truth,

6:37 he said, "Do you recognize me, O Messenger of Allah?"

6:40 He said, "Yes,

6:42 you are the one from that encounter near al-Khayf in Mina."

6:46 Maysarah said,

6:48 "By Allah, O Messenger of Allah,

6:50 ever since I left you in that place,

6:54 I have been eager to follow you,

6:56 but Allah willed only what you see regarding the delay of my Islam.

7:00 Most of the men who were with me that day have perished.

7:06 Where are they, O Messenger of Allah?"

7:08 He, peace be upon him, said,

7:11 "Everyone among them who perished while not upon the religion of Islam

7:14 is in the Fire."

7:16 Maysarah wept and said,

7:19 "Praise be to Allah who saved me from the Fire through you, O Messenger of Allah.

7:24 Praise be to Allah who saved me from the Fire through you, O Messenger of Allah."

7:30 Then, it was not long before the noble Messenger, peace be upon him, joined the Highest Companion.

7:36 The Caliphate passed to al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him,

7:40 and the fire of the apostasy wars ignited.

7:43 Most of the Arab tribes began to say,

7:45 "We will establish the prayer,

7:47 but we will not pay the zakat."

7:50 The matter became grave for the Muslims,

7:52 their distress intensified,

7:54 and they feared for the city of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

7:59 that the apostates might attack it,

8:01 taking advantage of its lack of soldiers

8:04 due to the dispatching of Usamah ibn Zayd.

8:07 Some of them spoke to al-Siddiq and said,

8:10 "Accept the prayer from them,

8:12 and do not compel them to pay the zakat,

8:14 and leave them until faith takes root in their hearts, then they will pay it."

8:19 Al-Siddiq bristled at this suggestion like a wounded lion and said,

8:25 "By Allah, I will never differentiate between the prayer and the zakat.

8:29 By the One who sent His Prophet, peace be upon him, with the truth,

8:34 if they withheld a tether that they used to pay to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

8:40 I would fight them for it."

8:42 One day during that destructive, blind fitnah,

8:47 Maysarah ibn Masruq al-Absi set out

8:50 from the lands of his people in Najd,

8:52 in full view and hearing of the apostates,

8:55 with a large group of his people.

8:58 They drove before them the zakat of their wealth, from fat sheep to choice camels,

9:04 and carried with them various types of produce

9:07 upon which zakat is due.

9:09 They proceeded toward the land of the Hijaz,

9:12 ascending the highlands and descending the valleys.

9:16 Whenever they climbed an elevation, they would say 'Allahu Akbar',

9:19 and whenever they descended into a depression, they would say 'SubhanAllah'.

9:22 When Maysarah reached Madinah,

9:25 he entered it driving that large herd before him,

9:29 which crowded the alleys,

9:32 until he made it kneel before the public treasury of the Muslims.

9:36 The people of Madinah rejoiced with the greatest joy,

9:39 and al-Siddiq received him with delight and said to him,

9:43 "May Allah bless you and your people in your wealth,

9:46 and reward you with Paradise."

9:48 Then he entrusted them to Khalid ibn al-Walid.

9:51 From that day on,

9:53 the bonds of friendship were strengthened between Maysarah ibn Masruq al-Absi

9:58 and the Sword of Allah, Khalid ibn al-Walid.

10:01 Maysarah joined under his banner,

10:04 and went forth with him, striving in the way of Allah,

10:07 despite the fact that he was an old man, advanced in age.

10:12 In the Battle of Fahl in Jordan,

10:15 the trial became severe for the Muslims,

10:17 and the Romans were about to overcome them.

10:20 A knight emerged from the enemy camp,

10:22 full of youth,

10:24 sturdy of build, and fierce in strength,

10:27 and began calling for a challenger to duel him.

10:30 The people feared him.

10:32 Suddenly, the elderly Maysarah ibn Masruq

10:36 rose to challenge him.

10:38 Khalid turned him back and said,

10:41 "You have no strength for him,

10:43 for he is a young man in the prime of his youth,

10:45 and you are an old, aged man."

10:47 But Maysarah did not listen to his words,

10:50 and intended to proceed toward the knight.

10:53 Khalid pushed him back to the ranks,

10:55 saying,

10:57 "Did you not pledge allegiance to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

11:00 to obey?

11:02 So obey, and return to your rank."

11:04 At that moment,

11:06 a young man from the Muslim youth emerged to face the Roman knight,

11:10 and he continued to fight him until he killed him.

11:13 It was as if Allah, blessed be His wisdom,

11:16 had preserved Maysarah for that day,

11:19 He was to be the first Muslim commander to lead an army of 6,000 fighters,

11:25 entering the lands of the Byzantines as a warrior in the path of Allah,

11:29 and then returning from his expedition supported by the victory of Allah,

11:33 bringing back with him such gains in terms of Islam and spoils of war

11:36 as to exceed all estimation,

11:38 thereby paving the way for the armies of the Muslims

11:41 from his era until the time of Mehmed the Conqueror,

11:44 who later conquered Constantinople.

11:48 Maysarah ibn Masruq was the first Muslim commander to lead an army of 6,000 fighters,

12:01 and enter the lands of the Byzantines with them.

Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (70) - Maysarah bin Masruq Al-Absi, may God be pleased with him

Transcript