Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 56 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (71) - Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib, 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 glimpses from the lives of the Companions.
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By Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
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may Allah have mercy upon him.
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Hamzah ibn Abd al-Muttalib,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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This noble Companion
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was a childhood peer of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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back when they were two boys growing up in the mountain passes of Makkah.
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He was also his foster brother,
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as they were both nourished by the same breast.
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He was connected to him by the strongest bonds of kinship.
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That is Hamzah ibn Abd al-Muttalib,
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the uncle of the Great Messenger, peace be upon him,
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and the master of the martyrs of the Ummah.
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Hamzah ibn Abd al-Muttalib, at the time the Noble Messenger—upon him be the best of prayers and purest of salutations—was called to prophethood,
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had just passed his fortieth year.
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He was, at that time, a master among the prominent masters of Quraysh,
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and a formidable leader among their elite.
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Makkah held him in high regard,
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and its people held for him a love mingled with reverence and esteem.
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Despite the close bond between him and the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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he did not pay much attention to his call,
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and he did not embrace Islam when the Messenger, peace be upon him, warned his closest kin.
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The Hashimite knight was a man of the hunt,
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finding in it his greatest pleasure,
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and exhausting his vibrant, surging energies in its pursuit.
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One day, while he was returning from his hunt,
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with his bow slung over his shoulder and his spear in hand,
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walking with a gait of pride and arrogance,
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a bondwoman of Abd Allah ibn Jud'an intercepted him
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and said to him,
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"If you, O Abu 'Umarah, had heard what I heard of Abu al-Hakam’s insults toward your nephew Muhammad,
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and had seen what I saw of his assault upon him,
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you would have a different perspective today."
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No sooner had her words touched his ears
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than he was consumed with rage, his chest heaving with indignation.
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He asked the girl if anyone had seen him while he was insulting him.
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She replied, "Yes, many people saw him."
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The Hashimite knight turned back on his tracks
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and headed toward al-Safa,
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where Abu Jahl was sitting in the midst of a gathering of people.
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He approached him and struck him with his bow, a blow that split his head and drew blood.
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Then, he declared his Islam before the witnesses,
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and proclaimed the word: "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."
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He said, challenging them:
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"Here I am, I have embraced Islam.
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If it is within the power of Quraysh to turn me away from Islam,
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then let them try."
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When the Banu Makhzum saw the blood of their master, Abu Jahl,
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streaming from his head and covering his face,
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they rose up against Hamzah ibn Abd al-Muttalib,
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wanting to harm him.
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But Abu Jahl
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said to them, "Leave Abu 'Umarah alone,
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for I have indeed insulted his nephew,
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when I reviled and cursed him before a crowd of people."
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In the blink of an eye,
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the news of Hamzah’s conversion spread throughout Makkah,
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and the news struck the polytheists like a thunderbolt.
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As for the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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you may speak as you wish of his joy at his uncle’s conversion, without restraint.
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And as for the Muslims,
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say what you will of their delight at the addition of this Qurayshi leader to their ranks.
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For they had known no two days in Makkah more joyful to their hearts or dearer to their souls
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than the day of the conversion of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab,
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and the day of the conversion of Hamzah ibn Abd al-Muttalib.
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No sooner had they embraced Islam
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than they resolved with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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to go out to the Ka'bah and circumambulate it,
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and to perform their prayer there in the sight and presence of Quraysh.
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The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, responded to them,
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and went out under their protection, one in front of him and the other behind him,
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until he reached the Sacred Ka'bah.
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He circumambulated the House seven times,
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and prayed the Dhuhr prayer there, safe and reassured.
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Then he departed to the House of al-Arqam,
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while the eyes of Quraysh watched him,
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and their hearts were torn with rage and malice toward him.
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When the Messenger, peace be upon him, migrated to Madinah,
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the first banner he commissioned was for his uncle, Hamzah ibn Abd al-Muttalib,
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and it was the first banner commissioned in Islam.
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On the day of Badr,
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Hamzah fought the polytheists with the most intense and greatest of efforts.
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He was a heavy burden upon the polytheists,
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and a source of severe affliction for them.
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No sooner had the two hosts met on that glorious day
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than Hamzah emerged like a grey camel,
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having placed a mark on his chest to distinguish him from others,
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and to indicate him to anyone who sought him out.
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His mark was a red ostrich feather that he had fixed to his chest.
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Then, there emerged from the ranks of the polytheists
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al-Aswad ibn Abd al-Asad al-Makhzumi,
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a fierce man of ill character.
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He said, "I swear by al-Lat and al-'Uzza,
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I shall drink from the Muslims' cistern,
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or I shall destroy it,
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or I shall die before it."
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Hamzah, may Allah be pleased with him, stepped out to meet him,
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and struck him a blow that severed his leg.
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He fell on his back, with blood gushing from him,
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and he began to crawl toward the cistern to fulfill his oath,
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but Hamzah finished him off before he could reach his goal.
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Then, after him, emerged 'Utbah ibn Rabi'ah,
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accompanied by his brother Shaybah and his son al-Walid.
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When they stepped away from the ranks, they called for a duel.
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In the blink of an eye, there rose to meet them
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three young men from the Ansar, as straight as spear shafts.
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'Utbah said to them, "Who are you?"
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They replied, "A group from the Ansar."
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He said, "Go back; we have no need of you."
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Then they called out, "O Muhammad,
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bring out to us our peers from our own people."
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The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said,
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"Rise, O 'Ubaydah ibn al-Harith,
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and rise, O Hamzah ibn Abd al-Muttalib,
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and rise, O 'Ali ibn Abi Talib."
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'Utbah said, "Now, yes, these are noble peers."
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'Ali went out to al-Walid ibn 'Utbah,
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and they were two young men of similar age,
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and he killed him.
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Then Hamzah ibn Abd al-Muttalib went out
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to Shaybah ibn Rabi'ah,
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and they were of similar age,
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and he killed him.
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And 'Ubaydah ibn al-Harith went out
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to 'Utbah ibn Rabi'ah,
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and they were two elderly men,
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and he killed him.
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Then 'Ubaydah was martyred, succumbing to his wounds.
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No sooner were the three champions of Quraysh killed
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in a matter of moments
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than the heat of the battle intensified.
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Hamzah fought with a ferocity
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that filled the hearts of the polytheists
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with hatred for him and schemes against him.
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At Uhud,
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the polytheists wanted
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to take revenge on the killer of their men in general,
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and they wanted
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to take revenge on Hamzah in particular,
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after he had humiliated their leaders at Badr
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and killed those of their chiefs who were killed.
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When Hamzah saw the defeat
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that had befallen the Muslims,
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he surged and raged,
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and began to call out,
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"I am the Lion of Allah and the Lion of the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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O Allah, I disavow to You
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what these people have brought,"
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meaning Abu Sufyan and his companions,
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"and I apologize to You for what these people have done,"
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meaning the scattering of the Muslims
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away from their Prophet, peace be upon him.
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He began to wield his sword right and left,
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until he attained martyrdom,
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treacherously, at the hands of
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an Abyssinian slave named Wahshi.
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When the women of the polytheists learned
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of the fall of the Muslim champions,
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led by the Lion of Allah,
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Hamzah ibn Abd al-Muttalib,
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a group of them rushed forward,
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led by Hind bint 'Utbah,
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whose father, brother,
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and uncle had been killed at Badr
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at the hands of Hamzah ibn Abd al-Muttalib,
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'Ali ibn Abi Talib,
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and 'Ubaydah ibn al-Harith.
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She began to roam among the slain,
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disemboweling the bodies, gouging out eyes,
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cutting off ears, and mutilating noses.
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Then she made from the noses and ears
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necklaces and anklets with which she adorned herself,
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and she gave her jewelry to Wahshi
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as a reward for killing Hamzah.
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When Hind reached Hamzah, may Allah be pleased with him,
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she split open his chest,
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tore out his liver, and chewed it,
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but she could not swallow it, so she spat it out.
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And from this, she was called "the eater of the liver."
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When the dust of battle settled,
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and the news of the mutilation of the Muslims spread,
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a deep sadness blanketed Madinah.
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Safiyyah bint Abd al-Muttalib,
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the aunt of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, came forward
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to see what had befallen her brother.
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The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said
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to her son, al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam,
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"Meet her and turn her back,
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so that she does not see what has happened to her brother."
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He hurried to her and said,
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"O Mother,
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the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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commands you to return."
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She said, "And why?
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It has reached me that he was mutilated, just as my brother was.
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And that was for the sake of Allah.
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By Allah, I shall remain patient and seek reward from Allah, if He wills.
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Al-Zubayr then informed the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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of what she had said.
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He replied,
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"Let her pass."
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She came to her brother,
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looked at him,
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prayed over him,
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recited the *istirja'* (saying 'to Allah we belong'), and sought forgiveness for him.
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Then she said,
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"These are two garments
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I have brought to shroud him in."
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Al-Zubayr said,
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"When we intended to shroud Hamza in them,
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we found beside him a martyr from the Ansar
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who had been mutilated just as Hamza had been.
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We felt a sense of discomfort and modesty in shrouding Hamza in two garments
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while the Ansari had no shroud at all.
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So we said: one garment for Hamza,
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and one garment for the Ansari."
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Then we looked,
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and one of the two garments was larger than the other.
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We drew lots between them,
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and we shrouded each of them in the garment that fell to his lot.
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Hamza was a tall man,
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so if the garment covered his head,
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his feet would be exposed,
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and if it covered his feet, his head would be exposed.
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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
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"Cover his head with the garment,
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and place some leaves over his feet."
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Do not ask about the grief of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, for his uncle.
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For he, peace be upon him, looked upon a scene the likes of which he had never seen more painful.
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He said,
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"May the mercy of Allah be upon you.
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You were indeed one who maintained ties of kinship,
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and one who performed many good deeds."
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"By Allah, I shall surely mutilate seventy of them if I gain victory over them."
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Then Jibril descended upon him before he had left his place with the words of the Almighty,
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“If ye punish, then punish with the like of that wherewith ye were afflicted. But if ye endure patiently, verily it is better for the patient.” (16:126)
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“If ye punish, then punish with the like of that wherewith ye were afflicted. But if ye endure patiently, verily it is better for the patient.” (16:126)
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So the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, made expiation for his oath,
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and refrained from that.
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The Messenger, peace be upon him, then gave orders regarding the martyrs,
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and they were buried in groups.
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He said,
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"See which of them had memorized the most Qur'an,
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and place him in front of his companions."
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Then he stood over them all and said,
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"I am a witness over these."
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"There is no one wounded in the cause of Allah
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but that Allah will resurrect him on the Day of Resurrection with his wound bleeding;
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the color will be the color of blood,
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and the scent will be the scent of musk."
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When the Messenger, peace be upon him, had covered them with their earth,
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he returned to Medina, sorrowful and grieving.
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He passed by one of the houses of the Ansar from the tribe of Banu 'Abd al-Ashhal,
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and heard the women weeping and wailing over their dead.
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Their grief stirred his own grief,
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and their anguish ignited his own.
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Tears flowed from his noble eyes, and he said,
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"But Hamza has no one to weep for him."
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The men of the Ansar heard the words of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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and it weighed heavily upon their hearts.
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They ordered their women to go to the house of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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to weep for his uncle.
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When the Messenger, peace be upon him, heard their weeping for Hamza, he said,
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"May Allah have mercy on the Ansar.
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Return, may Allah have mercy on you.
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You have indeed offered consolation and comfort."
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Hamza ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib is the Lion of Allah,
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and the Lion of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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and the master of the martyrs of the Muslims.
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[The text here is garbled/corrupted in the source and does not translate to coherent meaning].
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[The text here is garbled/corrupted in the source and does not translate to coherent meaning].