Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 1 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (16) - Adi bin Hatim Al-Tai, 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 vignettes 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 on him.
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'Adi ibn Hatim al-Ta'i,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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In the ninth year of the Hijrah,
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an Arab king yielded to Islam after long aversion,
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softened to faith after turning away and resisting,
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and offered allegiance to the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, after refusal.
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That was 'Adi ibn Hatim al-Ta'i,
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whose father's legendary generosity was proverbially renowned.
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'Adi inherited leadership from his father,
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so the tribe of Tayy made him their king,
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allocated a fourth of their war spoils to him,
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and surrendered their leadership to him.
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When the noble Messenger openly proclaimed the call to guidance and truth,
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and tribe after tribe of the Arabs submitted to him,
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'Adi saw in the call of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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a leadership that threatened to extinguish his own authority,
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and a rule that would lead to the erasure of his reign.
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So he harbored against the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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the fiercest animosity, despite not even knowing him,
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and hated him with the deepest hatred before ever seeing him.
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He remained hostile toward Islam for nearly twenty years,
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until Allah opened his heart to the call of guidance and truth.
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The story of 'Adi ibn Hatim's conversion to Islam is unforgettable,
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so let us leave it to the man himself to recount his story,
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for he is the most entitled to tell it and the most fitting to narrate it.
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'Adi said, "There was no man among the Arabs who hated
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the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, more than I did
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when I first heard of him.
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I was a nobleman of high status,
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a Christian,
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and I used to rule over my people by taking the *mirba'*,
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taking a fourth of their spoils of war,
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as was the custom of other Arab kings.
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So when I heard of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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I despised him.
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As his cause grew prominent and his strength formidable,
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with his armies and military expeditions sweeping east and west across the Arab lands,
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I said to a servant of mine who grazed my camels,
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'May you be well!
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Prepare for me several fat, manageable sheath-camels from my herd,
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and keep them tethered near me.
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If you hear that Muhammad's army or one of his raiding parties
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has stepped foot in this land,
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inform me immediately.'
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One morning,
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my servant came to me and said,
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'My master,
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whatever you intended to do
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if Muhammad's cavalry should tread upon your land,
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do it now!'
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I said,
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'May your mother be bereaved of you! What is it?'
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He said,
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'I saw banners advancing through the settlements,
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so I inquired about them,
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and I was told, "These are the armies of Muhammad."'
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I said to him,
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'Ready the camels I instructed you to prepare,
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and bring them close to me.'
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I then rose immediately,
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called my family and children to depart from the land we loved,
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and began hastening our journey toward the lands of the Levant,
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to join my fellow Christians
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and settle among them.
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However, the urgency of the matter prevented me from gathering my entire family.
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Once I crossed the dangerous areas,
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I checked on my family
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and discovered I had left a sister of mine behind in our homelands in Najd,
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along with those of Tayy who remained there.
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I had no way of returning to her,
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so I pressed on with those who were with me until I reached the Levant,
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where I resided among my coreligionists.
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As for my sister,
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what I had anticipated and feared befell her.
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News reached me while I was in the Levant
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that Muhammad's cavalry had raided our lands
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and taken my sister among the captives they seized,
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driving her to Yathrib.
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There, she was placed with the rest of the captives in an enclosure by the door of the Mosque.
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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, passed by her,
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so she stood up before him and said,
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'O Messenger of Allah,
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my father has passed away, and my protector is absent,
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so show me favor, and may Allah show favor to you.'
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He asked, 'And who is your protector?'
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She replied, ''Adi ibn Hatim.'
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He said, 'The one who fled from Allah and His Messenger?'
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Then the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, walked on and left her.
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The next day,
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he passed by her again, and she spoke to him as she had the day before,
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and he replied to her as he had previously.
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On the third day,
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he passed by her when she had lost all hope in him,
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so she said nothing.
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A man standing behind him gestured to her,
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'Stand up and speak to him.'
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So she stood up before him and said,
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'O Messenger of Allah,
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my father has passed away, and my protector is absent,
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so show me favor, and may Allah show favor to you.'
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He said, 'I have done so.'
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She said,
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'I wish to join my family in the Levant.'
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He said,
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'Do not leave in haste
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until you find someone trustworthy from your people
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to escort you safely to the Levant.
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When you find a reliable person, let me know.'
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After the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, left,
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she inquired about the man who had gestured to her to speak to him,
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and she was told,
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'That was 'Ali ibn Abi Talib,'
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may Allah's pleasure be upon him.
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She remained there until a caravan arrived containing people she trusted,
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so she came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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and said,
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'O Messenger of Allah,
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a group of my people has arrived,
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among whom are trustworthy men who can convey me safely.'
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The Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, clothed her,
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gifted her a riding camel to carry her,
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and gave her ample funds for her journey,
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so she set out with the caravan.
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'Adi continued,
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'Thereafter, we began watching for news of her,
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awaiting her arrival,
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hardly able to believe what was reported to us regarding her experience with Muhammad,
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and his utmost benevolence toward her—
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despite everything I had done against him.
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By Allah, as I was sitting among my family,
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I caught sight of a woman in her litter heading toward us.
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I said,
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"The daughter of Hatim!"
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And indeed, it was her.
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When she stopped before us,
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she immediately confronted me, saying,
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"You ruthless, unjust man!
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You evacuated your own family and children,
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while abandoning your father's remaining bloodline and defense!"
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I said,
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"O my sister,
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say nothing but good."
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I kept soothing her until she was appeased,
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and she related her story to me.
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It was exactly as the reports had reached me.
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I said to her—
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and she was a resolute, intelligent woman—
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"What is your opinion regarding this man's affair?"
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meaning Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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She said,
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"By Allah, I advise that you join him swiftly.
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For if he is a prophet,
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those who precede others to him gain virtue;
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and if he is a king,
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you will never be humiliated in his presence, being who you are."
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'Adi said,
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'So I prepared my provisions
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and set off until I presented myself before the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in Medina,
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without any grant of immunity or written treaty.
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News had reached me that he had said,
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"I hope that Allah will place 'Adi's hand in mine."
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I entered upon him while he was in the mosque,
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and greeted him with peace.
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He asked,
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"Who is this man?"
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I replied,
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"'Adi ibn Hatim."
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He stood up for me,
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took me by the hand, and set off with me toward his house.
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By Allah, as he was walking with me toward his house,
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an elderly, frail woman met him,
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accompanied by a small child.
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She asked him to stop,
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and began speaking to him about a need of hers,
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so he stayed with them until he fulfilled their need,
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while I stood waiting.
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I said to myself,
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"By Allah, this is no conduct of a king."
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Then he took my hand and led me until we arrived at his home.
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He took a leather cushion,
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stuffed with palm-fiber,
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threw it to me,
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and said,
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"Sit on this."
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I felt embarrassed before him and said,
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"No, you sit on it."
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He said,
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"Rather, you."
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So I complied and sat upon it,
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while the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sat upon the bare ground,
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as there was no other cushion in the house.
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I said to myself,
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"By Allah, this is not how a king behaves."
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Then he turned to me and said,
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"What is holding you back, O 'Adi Ibn Hatim?
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Were you not a Rakusi—
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professing a faith between Christianity and Sabianism?"
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I replied, "Indeed, I was."
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He then said,
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"Did you not use to exact a fourth of the spoils (*mirba'*) from your people,
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taking from them that which was not lawful for you in your own religion?"
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I replied, "Indeed, I did."
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And I realized then that he was a prophet sent by Allah.
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Then he said to me,
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"Perhaps, O 'Adi,
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the only thing holding you back from entering this religion
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is the poverty and need you see among the Muslims.
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By Allah, wealth will soon overflow among them
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to the point that no one can be found to accept it.
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And perhaps, O 'Adi,
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the only thing holding you back from entering this religion
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is the small number of Muslims you see and the great number of their enemies.
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By Allah, you will soon hear of a woman
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traveling all the way from al-Qadisiyyah on her camel
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until she visits this House,
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fearing no one except Allah.
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And perhaps the only thing holding you back from entering this religion
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is that you see kingship and authority in the hands of non-Muslims.
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By Allah,
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you will soon hear that the white palaces of Babylon
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have been conquered by them,
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and that the treasures of Chosroes son of Hormizd
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have fallen into their hands."
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I asked in astonishment,
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"The treasures of Chosroes son of Hormizd?"
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He replied, "Yes,
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the treasures of Chosroes son of Hormizd."
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'Adi said,
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"At that moment, I bore the testimony of truth and embraced Islam."
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'Adi Ibn Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him) lived a long life,
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and he used to say,
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"Two of the prophecies have already been fulfilled,
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and the third remains.
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By Allah, it shall surely come to pass!
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For I have seen the woman travel from al-Qadisiyyah on her camel,
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fearing nothing until she reached this House;
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and I was among the first cavalry force that raided the treasures of Chosroes and seized them.
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And I swear by Allah, the third prophecy will surely come to pass."
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Allah willed to fulfill the words of His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
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and the third prophecy came to pass during the reign of the ascetic, devout Caliph 'Umar Ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz,
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when wealth overflowed among the Muslims
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to the extent that he had his town crier call out
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for anyone willing to accept zakat funds meant for the poor among the Muslims,
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but he could not find a single person.
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The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) spoke the truth,
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and 'Adi Ibn Hatim fulfilled his oath.
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"You believed when they disbelieved,
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you acknowledged the truth when they denied it,
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you remained faithful when they betrayed,
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and you came forward when they turned away."
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— 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab.
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Inspire me to elaborate
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in praising them—are they not the adornment of mankind?