Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 72 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (87) - Abu Baseer Utbah bin Asid, 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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Abu Basir 'Utbah ibn Usayd, may Allah be pleased with him.
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In the sixth year of the Hijrah,
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the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, set out from Medina
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with fifteen hundred of his Companions,
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turning their faces toward the Sacred Mosque,
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intending to perform the Umrah.
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No sooner did the Quraysh learn of them
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than they resolved to prevent them from entering Mecca,
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no matter the cost.
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However, they preferred that this be achieved through a peace treaty,
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if a path to peace could be found.
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When the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, reached
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the area of al-Hudaybiyah,
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a day's journey from Mecca,
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and pitched his camp there,
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envoys began to go back and forth between him and the Quraysh.
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The negotiations and back-and-forth between the two parties dragged on
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until Suhayl ibn 'Amr came
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as an ambassador for the polytheists.
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He made peace with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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on the condition that he return to Medina
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and postpone his Umrah until the following year,
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provided that he enter Mecca without weapons,
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and that he and those with him leave after three days,
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and that there be a peace treaty between the Muslims and the Quraysh
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lasting for ten years,
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during which peace would prevail between the two parties.
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This weighed heavily upon the Muslims,
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and it was difficult for them that the polytheists should prevent them
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from the Sacred House of Allah in this manner,
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and that they should conclude this treaty with the Quraysh.
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What made the matter even more painful for the hearts of the noble Companions
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was that Suhayl ibn 'Amr stipulated to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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that whoever came to the Muslims from the Quraysh as a believer,
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whether man or woman,
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the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would return them to the Quraysh,
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while whoever came to the Quraysh from the Muslims,
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having apostatized from Islam,
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they would not return to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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This provoked the indignation of Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him,
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so he rushed to the Truthful One (Abu Bakr) and said,
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"O Abu Bakr!"
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He replied, "Yes."
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He said, "Is he not the Messenger of Allah?"
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He replied, "Yes."
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He said, "Are we not Muslims?"
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He replied, "Yes."
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He said, "Are they not polytheists?"
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He replied, "Yes."
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He said, "Then why should we accept humiliation in our religion?"
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Abu Bakr replied firmly,
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"Adhere to the command of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, O Umar,
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for I bear witness that he is the Messenger of Allah."
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Umar said,
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"And I bear witness that he is the Messenger of Allah."
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Then Umar went to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and said,
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"O Prophet of Allah,
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are you not the Messenger of Allah?"
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He replied, "Yes."
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He said, "Are we not Muslims?"
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He replied, "Yes."
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He said, "Are they not polytheists?"
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He replied, "Yes."
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He said, "Then why should we accept humiliation in our religion?"
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He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, replied,
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"I am the servant of Allah and His Messenger;
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I will not disobey His command,
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and Allah will never abandon me."
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Umar said,
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"I continued thereafter to give charity, fast,
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pray, and free slaves,
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fearing the words I had spoken that day,
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until I hoped that Allah had forgiven me."
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When the treaty was signed between the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the Quraysh,
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the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, returned to Medina.
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But he had barely settled there for a short while
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when his covenant and pledges, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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were put to a harsh test because of Abu Basir,
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'Utbah ibn Usayd,
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the hero of this story of ours.
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So let us leave the narration to him,
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to tell his exciting story.
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Abu Basir said,
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"I was a man among the oppressed believers,
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for I had no tribe in Mecca to protect me,
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nor men to grant me sanctuary.
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The Quraysh had poured upon me the lash of their torment
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because of my departure from their religion
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and my rejection of their idols.
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When the Muslims began to migrate to Medina,
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the Quraysh imprisoned me,
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and did not allow me to migrate with the emigrants.
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They left me to turn on a fire fueled by their rage and hatred.
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So whenever the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, defeated them
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in a battle or expedition,
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they would take their revenge on me and my brothers among the oppressed,
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whom they had imprisoned, with the most severe vengeance.
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Then, an opportunity arose due to the negligence of the Quraysh,
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and I seized it,
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and fled with my religion to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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while I knew little of the details of the Treaty of al-Hudaybiyah."
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Abu Basir said,
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"I set out, quickening my pace toward Medina,
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longing to meet the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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and driven by the yearning to live with the Muslims.
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No sooner had my feet touched Medina,
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and my eyes been cooled by the sight of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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than the Quraysh sent a letter to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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with a man from Banu 'Amir
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and a client of theirs,
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requesting the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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to return me to them,
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in accordance with the terms of the peace treaty."
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Abu Basir said,
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"I did not expect that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would command me
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to return to the affliction I had been in,
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and to return to the captivity of the Quraysh,
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after I had saved myself and my religion.
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But the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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turned to me and said,
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'O Abu Basir,
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we have given these people the pledge you know of,
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and treachery is not permitted in our religion.
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Allah will surely grant you and those with you among the oppressed relief and a way out.'
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'Go back to your people.'
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I said, 'O Messenger of Allah,
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will you return me to the polytheists
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so they may persecute me in my religion?'
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He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
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'O Abu Basir,
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go,
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for Allah the Almighty
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will grant you and those with you among the oppressed relief and a way out.'"
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Abu Basir said,
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"So I set out with the two men,
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until we reached Dhu al-Hulayfah,
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seven miles from Medina.
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We sat down to get some rest.
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I said to the Qurayshi,
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'Is this sword of yours sharp, O brother of Banu 'Amir?'
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He said, 'Yes.'
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And he began to tell me about it, saying this and that.
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I expressed my admiration for it.
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When he saw me admiring the sword so much,
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he said,
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'Look at it if you wish.'
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When the sword was in my hand,
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I said to myself,
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'A polytheist is leading me to the polytheists
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to persecute me for my religion
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and make me taste the worst of torments.
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By Allah, I will not submit to him nor go with him.
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The responsibility of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has been fulfilled
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when he handed me over to him.
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So what is it to me if I kill him?'
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Then I drew the sword from its scabbard,
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struck his head with it, and killed him.
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When the client who was with him saw his death,
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he fled,
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and I did not pursue him,
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and he went to Medina,
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until he came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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while he was sitting in the mosque.
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When the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, saw him approaching,
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he said,
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'This man is terrified;
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he has been struck by fear.'
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When he reached the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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he said to him,
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'Woe to you,
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what is the matter with you?'
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He said,
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'Your companion killed my companion.'
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Abu Basir said,
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"By Allah, the man had not left his place
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before I appeared before the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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wearing the sword with which I had killed the Qurayshi,
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and I said,
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'O Messenger of Allah,
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your responsibility has been fulfilled,
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and Allah has acquitted you.'
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He said, 'How so?'
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I said,
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'You fulfilled your covenant
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and handed me over to the people, hand to hand.
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Then I defended myself against them,
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and saved my religion,
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fearing that they would persecute me or toy with me.'
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The Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, turned
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to those with him and said,
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'Woe to his mother, he is a fuel for war!
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If only he had men with him.'
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This statement of his made a deep impression on me."
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Then Abu Basir added, saying:
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It was not within the Messenger of Allah's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) power
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to keep me with him,
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in fulfillment of his covenant.
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And it was not within my power to return to Quraysh
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after I had killed their companion.
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So I proceeded until I reached Al-'Ays, by the sea,
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on the route that Quraysh used for their trade with Sham.
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And I stayed there.
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Then it was not long before the Muslims detained
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in Mecca heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say about me:
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"Woe to his mother, a firebrand of war!
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If only he had men with him!"
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So they began to come out to me, one after another,
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until we numbered about seventy men.
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And the first of these to come out to me was
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Abu Jandal, son of Suhail ibn 'Amr.
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So we began to intercept the trade route of Quraysh,
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and we would not capture anyone from them except we killed them.
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And no caravan would pass by us except we seized it.
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And our strength grew,
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and our might increased.
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And we became a thorn in the throat of Quraysh,
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disturbing their peace,
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and sowing terror among their caravans,
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until they were utterly exasperated with us.
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And their stratagems in our matter were exhausted.
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So they wrote to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
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imploring him by their kinship ties to call us to him,
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and declaring to him that they had rescinded their condition concerning us.
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Abu Jandal, the companion of Abu Basir, said:
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And while we were in that state,
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the letter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) reached us,
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inviting us to come to him.
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And at that time, my brother Abu Basir
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was critically ill.
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So I gave him the letter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
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He raised it to his lips and kissed it,
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then his soul departed while he was saying:
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"Convey my greetings to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)."
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So we buried him there.
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And we joined the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
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May Allah be pleased with Abu Basir, the firebrand of war.
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For he lived tormented in the cause of Allah,
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and died displaced in the cause of Allah as well.
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"Woe to his mother, a firebrand of war!
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If only he had men with him!"
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Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.