2. Early Life of Muhammadﷺ

2.1 Situation Around the World before Birth of Rasūlullāhﷺ

The situation in Arabia and around the world was very desperate, and for more information in that regard, you could refer to an excellent book written by Sheikh Abul Hasan Nadawī called Mā Dhā Khasar Al-A’lam Bi -Inhitāt Al-Muslimīn? – What has the World Lost by the Downfall of the Muslims? And he has a whole chapter in his book talkingabout the situation in the world at the time of Rasūlullāhﷺ . Over here we just have the situation in Arabia, but over there he talks about the situation in the Persian Empire, China, India, Roman Empire – all around the world. And it was in a very desperate state, it needed the light of Prophethood. It was not entirely evil; [some] people around the world still retained some good qualities, and Al-Būtī talks about some of the good qualities that the Non-Believers of the Arabs had in the time of Muhammadﷺ, and he mentions a few examples like generosity and hospitality, fulfilling of a pledge, pride and denial of shame and injustice, firm will and determination, perseverance and deliberateness, a pure and simple life; so these are some aspects that were taken advantage of by Islām.

2.2 Birth of Rasūlullāhﷺ

Anyway, we talked last time about the story of the Elephant – Al-Fīl. Rasūlullāhﷺ was born in ‘Aam Al-Fīl, he was born in the year in which Allāh destroyed the army of Abrahah. There are many stories mentioned referring to the birth of Rasūlullāhﷺ, miracles that happened, and you could go into other books to study these stories. We are not going to go through them for the simple reason that I am trying to stick to a certain standard of narration, and these stories are usually weak. Rasūlullāhﷺ, when his mother Āminah was pregnant, ‘Abdullāh, his father, was on a journey to Ash- Shām, but he ended up dying close to Madīnah and he was buried there, so he died before the birth of Muhammadﷺ. Rasūlullāhﷺ was born, and his mother saw a light that was coming out of her, and this light was reaching towards Ash-Shām, and that was interpreted as the light of the Message of Muhammadﷺ reaching to the world. There are a few Ahādīth that we will state, but first of all, Allāh says: Allāh is most knowing of where He places His Message. Al-An‘ām: 124

So Allāh chose the best tobe His Messenger – Muhammadﷺ.

Rasūlullāhﷺ – The Best of the Best: Now, Imām Ahmad narrates a Hadīth that people were talking different things about Muhammadﷺ , for example, they said that Muhammadﷺ was like a green tree growing in a desert. What they were trying to say was that Muhammadﷺ was the only good person among his clan. So Ibn ‘Abbās says, “Certain things the people were saying reached the Messenger of Allāh, so he mounted the pulpit and asked, ‘Who am I?’ They replied and said, ‘You are the Messenger of Allāh.’ He replied, ‘I am Muhammad Bin ‘Abdillāh Bin ‘Abdul Muttalib.’” Meaning I am Muhammad, son of ‘Abdillāh, son of ‘Abdul Muttalib. [He continued], “Allāh devised the creation and made me part of His best creatures. He made them all into two groups, placing me in the better of them. He created the tribes, subdivided them into clans, and placed me in the best one. I am the best of you, both in clan and in spirit.” Rasūlullāhﷺ was saying that I am not a good person among a group of evil people, he said [that] I am the best but I am also from among the best, so my clan and my tribe are the most noble. Rasūlullāhﷺ also says, “Verily Allāh granted eminence to Kinānah from amongst thedescendants of Ismā‘īl, and He granted eminence to the Quraish from among Kinānah, and He granted eminence to the Banī Hāshim among Quraish, and He granted me eminence from the tribe of Banū Hāshim.” So Rasūlullāhwas the greatest from among Banū Hāshim, and Banū Hāshim were the most noble among Quraish, and Quraish were the most noble among Kinānah, and Kinānah was the most noble of the descendants of Ismā‘īl.

Pure Ancestry of Rasūlullāhﷺ: Now, Rasūlullāhﷺ says in another Hadīth, “I was the product of true marriage (not fornication) from Ādam right on up to when my father and my mother had me. I was not at all tainted by the fornication of Jāhiliyyah.” In the time of Jāhiliyyah, because of the corruption and lewdness that occurs when people are far away from the true Message, their hearts become perverted, and a lot of immoral acts occur among the people. Rasūlullāh is saying [that] even though part of my ancestry lived in those times, but I was a product of marriage all the way up to Ādam, so there is not any of my ancestors who had a relationship of Zinā’, it is all through marriage all the way to Ādam , and that is something that Allāh has granted to Muhammadﷺ, it was all through true marriage. I hope the meaning of this is clear that the lineage of Rasūlullāhﷺ, from him all the way up to Ādam , was a product of marriage.

2.3 Names of Rasūlullāhﷺ:

The famous names of Muhammadﷺ that we know are Muhammad and Ahmad, but he has some additional names, and we will talk about the meanings of these names.

Muhammad: The name that was given to him by his family was Muhammadﷺ , and who was the one who named him Muhammad? Who was it? His grandfather; ‘Abdul Muttalib was the one who named him Muhammadﷺ. Now, the name Muhammad means to be eternally praised, for heﷺ obliges praise from people for his characteristics, his sayings, his actions, and he is the embodiment of praise and he is therefore Muhammad. So Muhammad means a person who draws praise. Muhammadﷺ, as we mentioned earlier, is praised eternally. Allāh has fulfilled the meaning of his name. There is no human being who ever lived in history who was praised like Muhammadﷺ; he is praised day and night.

Ahmad: The name Ahmad comes from the same root. You see, Muhammad and Ahmad come from the root Hamd, and what does Hamd mean? Praise. When you say Alhamdulillāh, [it means] praise be to Allāh. So both the names Muhammad and Ahmad are derived from the same root. Muhammad means a person who draws praise, so he is praised, [and] Ahmad means that he praises Allāh. So Rasūlullāhﷺ is the most among us in praising Allāh . So there is no person that ever lived [or lives] who praises Allāh like Muhammadﷺ. So here you have two meanings; Muhammad means he is the most praised, Ahmad [means] he praises Allāh the most. These are the two famous names of Muhammadﷺ.

Al-Hāshir: But he has also told us some of his other names, and these are from Ahādīth. One of his other names is Al-Hāshir. Al-Hāshir means ‘The gatherer to whom humanity will be resurrected in his wake’. The Prophetﷺ is the first to be resurrected among the creation, then mankind will be resurrected following him. So the first person to be resurrected will be Muhammadﷺ and then people will come after that, so he is the first on the Day of Judgement.

Al-Muqaffī: Al-Muqaffī –The Successor, for heﷺ is the last of the Prophets andMessengers and there shall be none succeeding him. So Muhammadﷺ is the last, Al-Muqaffī is the last.

Al-Māhī: Al-Māhī –The eraser who erases and eradicates Kufr. There is no Prophetwho will succeed in eliminating Kufr entirely except Muhammadﷺ. Now, that mission has not been fulfilled yet because his Ummah are still carrying on that mission, but the eventual victory of Islām, which will be the culmination of human history, will be a moment of time when the whole world will be Muslim, and that will be carried on by the Ummah of Muhammadﷺ under the leadership of ‘Īsā – Jesus, may peace be upon him. So Muhammadﷺ is the one who will be successful in eradicating [and] erasing Kufr from the face of the earth. So he is called Al-Māhī, he will erase and eradicate Kufr.

Nabïyyul Malhamah: One of his other names is Nabïyyul Malhamah – The Prophet of the Fierce Battle. Now, Malhamah is a fierce battle and it is also a series of battles. Rasūlullāhﷺ was named the Prophet of Malhamah, the Prophet of Fierce Battles, [and] one can give different interpretations to that. One meaning is that his Ummah are the greatest in terms of Jihād – there is no Ummah that has fought Jihād like the Ummah of Muhammadﷺ – that is one meaning. Another meaning that could be drawn from this name of Rasūlullāhﷺ is that the future of humanity after Muhammadﷺ will be that of very fierce battles, and we have seen examples of that in World War One and World War Two. History is divided into stages; we are now living in the stage of Muhammadﷺ which extends until the Day of Judgment. So events that are happening now, even though they might not be done by Muslims, but we are still living in the era of Muhammadﷺ, and everyone living on the face of the earth is part of the Ummah of Muhammadﷺ in the sense that he is their Prophet. Now, whether they accept it or not is a different question, but they are part of his Ummah, and they will come on the Day of Judgement and will they be asked about who? They will not be asked about ‘Īsā, they will not be asked about Mūsā, they will be asked about Muhammadﷺ – did you follow him or not?

2.4 Infancy of Rasūlullāhﷺ

Umm Ayman Nurses Rasūlullāhﷺ: Rasūlullāhﷺ was nursed initially by his mother and Umm Ayman, whose name is Barakah, and Umm Ayman was an Abyssinian woman who lived in Makkah. She later on became Muslim, and Rasūlullāhﷺ married her to his emancipated slave, Zayd Bin Hārithah. Zayd Bin Hārithah was a slave and Rasūlullāhﷺ freed him and he married him to Umm Ayman. So she also nursed Rasūlullāh.

Halīmah Fosters Muhammadﷺ: It was a tradition among the urban Arabs to send their children to grow up in the desert. They used to believe that the desert was more pure and had a cleaner environment and was healthier for them to grow in. They also believed that this would strengthen their character; because of the harshness, it would make them stronger people. So they would send their children out of the cities to live in the desert, and that happened with Rasūlullāhﷺ, he was brought up in the land of Banū Sa’d. Halīmah Sa’diyah narrates to us this story, she says that she came with her friends to Makkah so that they could take with them children to nurse, and for them this was something that they were paid for. So you would have these Bedouin women come into Makkah and they would try to adopt or nurse some children. Halīmah Sa’diyah came into Makkah and she said that that particular year was a year of famine, so they were very poor. Now, she and her friends went around the houses of Makkah searching for children who needed to be nursed.

She said that Muhammadﷺ was presented to each and every one of them and they all declined to accept him, they all refused to accept Muhammadﷺ. Why? Because he was an orphan. And they were saying, “What good is an orphan? Who will pay us if his father is dead?” So they would not agree on a certain amount of money; what they would do is they would nurse the child and then they would be given some financial compensation as a gift. Since Muhammadﷺ was an orphan, no one accepted him because he did not have a father to pay for him, and they said that his mother would not really be able to pay us much, so they all declined to accept Muhammadﷺ. Halīmah says, “At the end of the day all of my friends were going back to their camps with children except myself, I found no one to take with me. So at night I told my husband, ‘I am going to go next day in the morning and accept that child called Muhammad since we have no one else, I am not going to go back home empty-handed.’” She said, “My husband agreed. So I went next day in the morning and I went to Muhammad’s mother, Āminah Bint Wahb, and I said that I accept to take your child.”

Blessings of Muhammadﷺ Become Apparent: Halīmah says, “The night before, we could not get any sleep, because our camel was not providing any milk, and because of the famine and the hunger I was not able to provide my own child with milk, so he would cry throughout the night and keep us awake.” That was their situation; very poor. Halīmah says, “As soon as I picked up Muhammadﷺ and took him back to my camp, my breast immediately welcomed him and provided him with all the milk that he needed until he was satisfied, and the milk was enough for my son, and that was the first night that we were able to get a full night of sleep, because my son was not able to sleep for quite a few nights.” So immediately the Barakah of Muhammadﷺ was apparent. She said, “And then my husband went out to milk the camel and it was providing so much milk that my husband came back and said, ‘O Halīmah, you have brought us a blessed soul.’” There is something going on; all of these blessings are showering us since you brought this young child in our house.

So now they were still camping in Makkah, and they were ready now to go back to the desert. Halīmah says, “When we were coming to Makkah, I was riding a donkey that was so old and weak it was slowing down the whole group and it was annoying everyone else.” She said that this donkey was old and weak. You know, sometimes you would have a donkey which rather than going straight it would go sideways – very tired and disoriented! She said, “When we were going back, my donkey was the fastest among the group. My friends were asking me, ‘Is this the same animal you brought with you when we came to Makkah?’” She said, “Yes.” They said, “By Allāh, something is going on.”

Now they went back to their land. Halīmah said, “Me and my husband would send out our goats to graze; they would come back full and we would milk them whenever we wanted, while everyone else in our tribe, their animals would be hungry without any milk.” Now, people were starting to complain to the shepherds telling them, “Why do you not go and graze the animals in the same place where Halīmah is grazing hers?” She said, “So they would take their animals after us following us to the same place, yet ours would come back full and theirs would come back empty.” And she said, “The child was growing up and we were seeing the blessings of Allāh on all of us because of him.” There is a statement here where she says, “And God went on blessing us this way and we recognised it. Then he reached two years of age; he was already growing up a very fine boy, not like the other children. I swear that by the age of two, he was a sturdy boy. So we took him to his mother.”

Time for Muhammad’sﷺ Return to his Mother Āminah: When he was two years old, now it was time for them to return the child – that was it. And Subhān’Allāh, it seems that the Arabs of Makkah learned that the city is not a very healthy environment, especially with Makkah, because it received a lot of visitors from all over Arabia; you know, they could bring with them different diseases and germs into town. But the desert is very pure; the desert is hot and dry, and that makes it an unsuitable environment for the growth of bacteria, and it would be a very healthy place to be. So now at the age of two it was time for them to return Muhammadto his mother. They went to Makkah, they told Āminah, “We want to keep Muhammad with us.” You know, it is not good for him to be in Makkah and it might be dangerous; they were bringing up all of these excuses, they wanted to keep Muhammadﷺ, they loved him so much, they knew that he was blessed. They wanted to keep him and they kept on trying and trying and trying until Āminah agreed. Subhān’Allāh, that was theblessing of Allāh following Muhammadﷺ. She eventually agreed, so they took him back with them.

One day Muhammadﷺ was playing with his foster-brother, so his foster-brother came in rushing and said, “My brother from Quraish!” They asked, “What happened to him?” He said, “Two men dressed in white came down and knocked him to the ground and then they opened up his chest.” So Halīmah said, “Me and his father went rushing, and we came to see Muhammadﷺ, his colour was pale, and we asked him what happened, he said, ‘Two men came and they opened my chest and they took out something from it.’” Halīmah, she loved Muhammadﷺ so much and she did not want anything to harm him, plus she did not want anything bad to happen to him when he was with her. So she rushed back to Makkah and went to Āminah and said, “Here is Muhammad, you can now have him. We have fulfilled our responsibility.” Āminah said, “How come you are bringing him back when you were so interested in keeping him?” They said nothing. She insisted, she said, “Tell me what happened. You were so insistent on keeping him and now you want to bring him back? What happened?” Halīmah said, “She kept on questioning us until we eventually told her.” Āminah responded and said, “Are you afraid for him that Satan might hurt him? By Allāh, that will not happen. When I was pregnant with him, it was the lightest pregnancy, and when I delivered him, his birth was unlike any other child, and when he came out, I have seen light that was reaching to Ash- Shām. So the protection of Allāh is with him, and I am sure that he will have a great future.” So now Muhammadﷺ was back with his mother [Āminah].

Āminah and ‘Abdul Muttalib Pass Away: His mother passed away when he was at the age of six, so now he lost his father and mother. He was adopted by his grandfather ‘Abdul Muttalib who raised him up, and ‘Abdul Muttalib passed away when Muhammadﷺ was at the age of eight. And Muhammadﷺ was then taken care of by his uncleAbū Tālib, who protected him and helped him and supported him for the next 40 years in the life of Muhammadﷺ.

This is the early years of Muhammadﷺ. We will talk about a few important events here and there that happened before Prophethood; we are not going to spend much time on the pre -Prophethood era, but we will talk about the important events that happened.

2.5 Events Pre-Prophethood

2.5.1 Rasūlullāh’sﷺ Prevention from Attending Parties:

Rasūlullāhﷺ was protected by Allāhl he would not commit sins which were usual and normal amongst his people, Allāh was keeping him away from these sins. Rasūlullāhﷺ narrates an example of this, he says, “I was a shepherd, and one day I told my friend who was also a shepherd with me, ‘Tonight I want to go into Makkah to attend the parties that my peers attend.’” Rasūlullāhﷺ was a young man at the time and all of his friends would attend parties except he, he was the only one who would not join them in these parties, so Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “One day, I wanted to go and see what they were doing, so I told my friend to take care of my flock until I come back; he agreed. I went into Makkah and I arrived at the place where they were having this party. As soon as I was hearing the music, Allāh struck my ears so I fell down asleep. By the time I woke up, the party was over.” He said, “The next day, I decided to attend another party. I went into Makkah [with] the same arrangement with my friend, and as soon as I reached the place and I was hearing the music, Allāh struck my ears again and I fell down asleep. And I woke up after the party was over and I realised that this is a sign to me from Allāh; Allāh is giving me a sign.”

2.5.2 Rasūlullāh’sﷺ Natural Dislike towards Idol-Worshipping

We have another example that was mentioned by Zayd Ibn Hārithah. Zayd Ibn Hārithah, who was a servant of Rasūlullāhﷺ, narrates and says, “There were brass idols called Isāf and Nā’ilah which the Polytheists would touch as they performed Tawāf. The Messenger of Allāh said, ‘Do not touch it.’” So you had Isāf and Nā’ilah, and the people of Quraish, when they would make Hajj or ‘Umrah, they would touch these two idols, it was part of their worship. Rasūlullāhﷺ told Zayd, “Do not touch them.” Now, how did Rasūlullāhﷺ know that he was not supposed to touch the idols? It was Hidāyah coming from Allāh . [Zayd continues],“Soas we went roundagain, I told myself that I would touch it to see what would happen. When I did so, the Messenger of Allāh asked me, ‘Were you not forbidden to do that?’” Zayd then stated, “The Messenger of Allāh never saluted an idol right up to when Allāh the Almighty honoured him and He gave him the Revelation.” Rasūlullāhﷺ never made Sujūd to an idol, never touched the idols in the sense of worship, and Rasūlullāhﷺ had a natural dislike towards idol-worshipping, and he even applied those rules on his family; Rasūlullāhﷺ told Zayd Ibn Hārithah, who was his servant, ‘Do not be involved in touching these idols.’ And that is why ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib never worshipped an idol; why? Because he was raised up in the house of who? In the house of Rasūlullāhﷺ. When Abū Tālib was poor, Rasūlullāhﷺ offered to take care of his son ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib, so ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib was raised up by Rasūlullāhﷺ, and ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib therefore never made Sujūd to an idol, he never worshipped idols because he was brought up in the house of the Messenger of Allāhﷺ.

Allāh was guiding himﷺ towards some of the ‘Ibādāt that no one else knew about. Among the people of Quraish, during Hajj, they would be the only people not to participate in ‘Arafah. So you have different rituals of Hajj; you have Tawāf around Al-Ka’bah, you have Sā‘ī between As- Safā Wal-Marwā, you have standing in ‘Arafah, you have camping in Minā. The people of Quraish would participate in all of these rituals with the exception of ‘Arafah. Why? Because ‘Arafah is considered out of Al-Haram, ‘Arafah is outside the boundaries of the sacred place – Al-Haram. So all of the Arabs would go to ‘Arafah in Hajj with the exception of the people of Quraish, they would say, “We are the dwellers of Al-Haram; how can we go outside of Al-Haram?” That was their logic; if we are part of Al-Haram, if we are the people of Makkah, how can we get out of the boundaries of Makkah? So they would stop at the borders with ‘Arafah. Al-Mut‘am Bin Jubair [once] lost his camel and he went to look for it and he ended up searching for his camel in ‘Arafah. To his amazement, who does he find there? Muhammadﷺ. Al-Mut‘am said, “Is he not from among the people of Quraish? What is he doing in ‘Arafah?” But Allāh was guiding Muhammadﷺ by Fitrah to go to ‘Arafah during the time of Hajj.

2.5.3 Hilf Al-Fudūl:

The next important event that happened during the early years of Rasūlullāhwas a pact called Hilf Al-Fudūl. The story behind this is that there was a man who came from Zabīd in Yemen, he came to do business in Makkah. His merchandise was taken by Al-‘Aas Bin Wā‘il who promised to pay him back; he was going to sell it and pay him back. Al-‘Aas Bin Wā‘il, after a while, refused to pay this man; he was taking advantage of the fact that that he was a foreigner, he was not from Makkah. He told him frankly, “I am not going to pay you.” Al-‘Aas expected that this man would just walk away; he was a foreigner, who would help him? But the man did not; the man stood up for his right and he went to a public place in Makkah and he startedcalling the people of Quraish, and he was telling them, “I was oppressed in your land. Are you people who are going to stand up for my rights? Will you allow this oppression to

happen in your land?” And he said a few emotional words, so some of the clans of Quraish decided to meet together to bring about an agreement on protecting the rights of the weak in Makkah, [they thought] we cannot allow this to happen, and among these families of Quraish was the family of Rasūlullāhﷺ – his uncles.

Rasūlullāhﷺ at the time was a young boy, but he said, “My uncles took me with them to attend this meeting.” The meeting was held in the house of ‘Abdullāh Ibn Jad‘ān. This was symbolic for them to have it in his house because ‘Abdullāh Ibn Jad‘ān was a man who was very generous, very kind to others, and he was a person who would stand up for what was right, so they decided to honour him by having this meeting in his house. So they came together and they made an agreement that we will stand together –all of us present here – we will stand together to protect the rights of the oppressed, of the weak. This happened before Prophethood, it was a pact that occurred between Non-Believers, between Mushrikīn. Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “I witnessed in the house of ‘Abdullāh Bin Jad‘ān a pact made that I would not have exchanged it for the choicest herd, and if it had been suggested after Islām, I would have responded positively to it.” Rasūlullāh is saying that if I am invited to it today, after the Message of Islām has been given to me, I would have still responded to it, even though it was held by Non-Believers. The important lesson to learn from this is that Muslims should side with what is right no matter what the source is, no matter where that is coming from. Muslims should stand for human rights, should stand for the oppressed, should stand for the needy, no matter what their religious background is; we should stand up for what is good. As a Muslim, we stand up for what is right, and Rasūlullāhﷺ was making this point by stating that I would respond to it today if I was invited. The man was given back what belonged to him after that.

An incident happened later in the time of Al -‘Amawiyyīn – we are talking about a few decades after Rasūlullāhﷺ passed away – it happened between Al-Husain Bin ‘Alï, the son of ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib, and Al-Walīd Bin ‘Utbah Bin Abū Sufyān who was the governor of Madīnah. Because Al-Walīd was the governor, he was taking advantage of his position and he had taken away some property that belonged to the son of ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib, Al-Husain. What Al-Husain did was he went to Al-Walīd and told him, “You either gave me back what belongs to me otherwise I am going to walk into the Masjid and invite the people to Hilf Al- Fudūl, I am going to remind them about Hilf Al-Fudūl.” Now, ‘Abdullāh Ibn Az-Zubair was with Al-Walīd at that time, and he said, “And I too swear by Allāh that if he does invoke it, I will draw my sword and stand there with him until he gets his justice, or we will all die together.” And then some other people heard about that; Al-Miswar Bin Makhramah, and ‘Abdur-Rahmān Bin ‘Uthmān Bin ‘Ubaid, and others, and they gave similar statements, so now it was picking up, and Al-Walīd realised that it could become quite dangerous so he gave back to Al-Husain what belonged him. The reason why I am bringing this up even though it happened way after Seerah of the life of Rasūlullāhﷺ is to show that Muslims would not allow wrong to happen in front of them. Here you have people who were living under a particular leader, Al-Walīd Bin ‘Utbah, nevertheless they stood up and they protected their brother who was in need, even if they had to give up their lives. So a Muslim should stand up for what is right. Sheikh Muhammad Al -Ghazālī comments on this pact, he says, “This pact shows that no matter how dark life becomes and oppressive dictators become, noble characteristics will still remain in certain people who stand up for justice and Birr – righteousness. Allāh has made co-operation in enjoining good an obligation upon Muslims which He has called to in the verse: And co-operate in righteousness and piety, but do not co-operate in sin and aggression. Mā’idah: 2

Sofor a group of Muslims to enter into a treaty ora contract, such as the aforementioned, is made permissible because it is only a reinforcement for an Islāmic obligation. However, this by definition must be dissimilar to the situation of Masjid Dirār (this was a mosque created in Madīnah to exclude groups of Muslims), where the co-operation turns into a nationalistic or elitist strategy to exclude Muslims. As for the Muslims contracting with the people of other faiths in order to remove oppression or to face an oppressor, this becomes permissible for them if there is in it the welfare of Islām and Muslims in the

present and the future. The basis for this is essentially the Prophet’sﷺ willingness to answer the call for the pact even after Islām.”

2.6 Shepherding – Rasūlullāh’sﷺ First Profession

The first profession for Rasūlullāhﷺ was shepherding; that is the first thing he did. And in Bukhārī, Rasūlullāhﷺ says, “Allāh has not sent a Prophet who was not a shepherd.” His Companions then asked, “And you?” He said, “Yes, I used to herd sheep with compensation from the people of Makkah.” Every Prophet has been a shepherd. It is striking that Allāh has trained all of his Ambiyā’ by going through this line of work; being a shepherd.

Lessons Ambiyā’ Learnt from Being Shepherds: What are the lessons that we can learn from Ambiyā’ being shepherds? There are lessons to be learned from them being shepherds and there are lessons to be learned from them being shepherds of specifically sheep, because that is what the Hadith states; it did not just make an unqualified statement that they were shepherds, it states that they were shepherds of sheep. Actually, the Hadīth says Rā‘i Al-Ghanam, and Ghanam could mean either sheep or goats; the same word in Arabic refers to both.

Responsibility: The most important lesson to learn from that – we are talking about lessons that the Ambiyā’ learned from being shepherds – the most important lesson that they learn, the most important training that they get from being shepherds, is responsibility. And Rasūlullāhﷺ says in the Hadith, “You are all shepherds, and you are all responsible for your herd.” And then he said that the Imām – meaning the leader of the Muslims – is responsible forhis people, the man is responsible for his household, the woman is responsible; everyone is responsible. So the first lesson to learn from being a shepherd is responsibility. You know, a shepherd usually is working for someone else who owns the flock, so they are hired by someone else, so they have to report to a higher authority, they have to report to someone else. Now, a shepherd cannot go back to the owner and say, ‘Well, I am sorry I lost one sheep because that sheep happened to be stupid.’ It does not matter what the sheep do, you are responsible. Anything that happens to this flock, even if the sheep was wrong, you are responsible for it. You cannot go back and say, ‘Well the sheep was wrong, it is not my fault.’ No, it is your fault. So they learned to be responsible for a herd even if the herd is not responsible for itself. They still feel that they are going to be held accountable for the flock regardless of whether the flock is intelligent or not, whether they are united or not, whether they obey or not; I am accountable for them. So it is a very important lesson for the leader; you are responsible for your herd. And the Ambiyā’ of Allāh, one day, are going to be accountable to Allāh for their people. So that is the first lesson they learned; being responsible.

Patience: Second Lesson: It teaches them patience. Taking out sheep to graze; they take their time, they are slow, and you have to wait, you have to be patient. They might end up fighting with each other, they might end up playing with each other; you have to wait, you have to be patient. And you cannot really tell them, ‘Come on guys, finish up, we have to leave!’ You cannot. They are going to take their time, and you have to sit there waiting. You see, shepherds sometimes, when their sheep are grazing, they would just sit on a rock and wait until the sheep have their fill. So it teaches patience, and you are doing this day in and day out, on a daily basis; you leave in the morning, you come back at sunset. And you have to be patient with these animals, you have to bear with them. Even if you are not communicating well with them and if they are not communicating well with you, you still have to be patient and bear with them.

So the Ambiyā’ learned to be very, very patient with their people. Look at what Mūsā went through with Banī Isrā’īl – unbearable! But Mūsā had training in shepherding longer than maybe any other Prophet; he was a shepherd for 10 years. When he left Egypt and he got married to the daughter of Shu‘aib, what did his father- in-law tell him? “You work for me eight years or 10.” So the contract was eight years, and then he told him, “And if you want to add two years to that, it is a favour that you would do me.” Now, the Āyah in Qur’ān does not state whether Mūsā worked for eight or 10. Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted to know, so he asked Jibrīl, “How long did Mūsā work?” Jibrīl told him, “He worked the most complete and perfect term.” In other words, 10 years. Being a Nabï of Allāh, he was going to do the best job, so even though the contract stated eight years, he did 10. Mūsā went through a lot, but he was patient; he was patient with his people. Nūh – 950 years in Da’wah, and he was still patient with his people. He tried every different way;

I invited my people [to truth] night and day. An-Nūh: 5
…Then I invited them publicly. Then I announced to them and [also] confided to them secretly. An-Nūh: 8-9

I tried every way, and they wererejecting my Message. Imagine doing the same thing, meeting the same people who are turning you down, for 950 years!

Protection: Third Lesson: Protection. The shepherd protects the flock. Now, there are various dangers, seen or unseen; you have wolves, you have other beasts, and then you have diseases. The shepherd needs to be on top of this all and needs to consistently make sure that no dangers are affecting the flock. And the Ambiyā’ of Allāh are very protective of their people, they try to protect them from physical and psychological dangers. In Madīnah, at night, suddenly a commotion was heard, so some of the Sahābah immediately picked up their weapons and were on their horses and were racing towards the source of the sound. They went there, and to their amazement they found Rasūlullāhﷺ already on his way back, telling them, “Lan Turā‘u.” Hetold them everything was fine. So even though these Sahābah were so fast and swift in getting there, Rasūlullāhﷺ was already there before them, and he checked it out, made sure that it was fine and came back. Rasūlullāh would warn them from Shaitān, would warn them from everything. Rasūlullāhﷺ has not left any danger that could afflict us without warning us – everything; he even talked about events in the future – Ad-Dajjāl. He told the Sahābah, “I have warned you about Ad-Dajjāl like no other Prophet has warned his people.” Meaning I have given you more details than anyone else. “If he comes out while I am among you, I will take care of that. If he comes out after I pass away, then everyone is responsible for their own protection.” So that is another lesson that the Ambiyā’ learned from being shepherds.

Clear Vision: Fourth Lesson: These animals are closer to earth, and their sight is very limited. Sheep can only see so far; any small obstacle would block their view, but a human being, standing up tall, has a longer view, and from that vantage-point can see danger while it is approaching; the sheep cannot. Because the shepherd is standing up and staring at every direction, the first to notice danger would be the shepherd, and the shepherd therefore would give an advance warning to the flock. So you would have this flock of sheep grazing around happily and they do not know that there is some danger a few feet away; because of their short -sightedness, they cannot see it, while the shepherd can, and that is the case with the Ambiyā’; they sense and they detect the danger before it approaches us, and they have the clearest vision, and they have the longest view, and they have a vantage-point that none of us have, and they know what is good for us. Rasūlullāhﷺ says, “The analogy of me and you is like someone sitting next to a fire at night.” When you have a fire at night, what happens? It would attract insects. If you have a lamp outside of your house and it is night time, you would have all of these moths flying around it; they are attracted by any source of light. Now, if they see fire, they think it is light, not knowing that it will burn them. So all of these moths and flying insects are attracted to the fire thinking it is light, and they get there and they burn, you just hear a sound; what you arehearing is really an insect exploding, so it is burning alive. Rasūlullāhﷺ says, “That is the analogy of me and you; I am like someone standing next to this fire, and you are attracted to it and you are jumping in it while I am grabbing you by your clothes dragging you away and you are forcing yourselves into it.” I am holding you, dragging you by your clothes, and you are releasing yourself from me, jumping into the fire. He knows that it is fire; we do not. He sees the danger; we do not. Rasūlullāhﷺ is inviting the people to Jannah, and they are forcing themselves to the path of Hellfire.

So the Rā‘i – the shepherd, sees the danger and realises it, and is warning; giving very strong warnings to the flock. If you see in front of you a blind man walking, and in front of this man is a deep trench, and this man is blind, he cannot see, so within a few steps he is going to fall in that trench and he might kill himself, in that situation what would your response be? You would jump up and scream and give that man an immediate warning; be careful! You are not going to sit there, think about it, and try to think about some very polite and pleasant words that you could deliver to this man. You are going to scream to the top of your voice and tell him, “Be careful!” And that is what the Ambiyā’ were doing; they were giving a very plain, straight-forward warning. Not because they lack in sensitivity and they are attempting to hurt the feelings of others; no, because they want to save the other people, because they really cared about them. And the Rā‘i might hit some of the animals, not because he wants to hurt them but because he wants to save them. So whenever we see a Nabï of Allāh standing up and giving what seems to be a very direct and staunch warning, it is because they care about their people. It is reported that Rasūlullāhﷺ stood on the pulpit in the Masjid and told the people, “Andhartukumun Nār! Andhartukumun Nār! Andhartukumun Nār! – Iam warning you [of] Hellfire!Iam warningyou [of] Hellfire! I am warning you [of] Hellfire!” And his voice was going up and up and up; the narrator of the Hadīth said that the people in the marketplace could hear Rasūlullāhﷺ in the Masjid. And he was repeating the same thing again and again – I am warning you Hellfire. So they have a long view.

Simplicity: Number Five: Simplicity. A shepherd is living a very simple life. You cannot have all of the accessories of life with you in the desert. You cannot take your Mercedes Benz car and your refrigerator with all of the different fruits and types of food [in it], and you have a couch with you in the desert, and you have a TV and a remote control; you cannot have that in the desert. In the desert all what you can carry with you are a few items and that is it, you have to give up all of the things you have. Even if you are a wealthy person, you cannot have these things with you out there while you are shepherding, you cannot have it. You are going out in the desert walking with these animals, you have to be light. So it teaches them to lead a simple life. A shepherd is eating very simple food, is having very simple accommodations; it teaches them simplicity, they become very simple, and it teaches them to get accustomed to different environments. It could be raining; you still need to feed the animals, it could be cold, hot, windy – all different climates; a shepherd needs to deal with that. And a shepherd is the last to take cover; you are responsible for these animals, you have to take them in, you have to protect them. So it teaches them to get accustomed to different ways of life. So Rasūlullāhﷺ would travel from one place to another, would go out in battles, and he was able to get accustomed to all of this because of his experience as a shepherd.

Closeness to the Creation of Allāh: [Number] Six: Closeness to the creation of Allāh. It pulls you out of the artificial world; you are out with the creation of Allāh, close to nature. Dear brothers and sisters, the life that we are leading could leave some harmful scars on our hearts and our way of thinking. Living in this concrete world where everything is artificial, is against the natural disposition of our creation. We were created from this earth, and we are close to nature, we are part of it, and keeping us away from that in this artificial world is keeping us away from contemplating in the creation of Allāh. Look at how many references are made in Qur’ān to the creation of Allāh; the sun, the moon, stars, heavens, mountains, rivers, oceans, plants – all of this is mentioned inQur’ān. Why is Allāh talking about all of these things? To draw our attention to His creation, because His creation is a mirror of His abilities; the creation of Allāh is a mirror of the attributes of Allāh. If you want to learn about the greatness of Allāh, look at His creation. If you want to learn about the wisdom of Allāh, look at His creation. If you want to learn about the knowledge of Allāh, look at His creation. Basically, if you want to learn about all of the names of Allāh, you will find some reflection of them in the creation of Allāh. So when we want to learn about Allāh, all what we have to do is look at His creation; that is how we can learn the ‘Azamah – the greatness, of Allāh. A shepherd spends a lot of time close to nature, and that gives them a chance to contemplate. Not every shepherd will take advantage of that, but the opportunity is given, and the Ambiyā’ of Allāh took advantage of that opportunity. Rasūlullāhﷺ would spend time thinking about the creation of Allāh, wondering about it.

So these are some lessons – there are some others – some lessons to be learned from being shepherds.

Why Specifically Shepherds of Sheep: Now, what about [the Ambiyā’ of Allāh being shepherds of] sheep? How come specifically sheep? How come it did not say they were shepherds of camels? Shepherds of cows? How come specifically sheep? Now, we might say that in the case of Rasūlullāhﷺ being brought up in Arabia, it was not their custom to raise cows, but they did raise camels, and Rasūlullāhﷺ was never in his life a shepherd of camels. Other Ambiyā’ who lived in other areas, how come it was specifically sheep? Well, sheep are very weak animals, they are weaker than cows and much weaker than camels, therefore they need more protection, they need more care, and because of this weakness they could easily fall prey. And when Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted to warn us from Shaitān, what did Rasūlullāhﷺ say? He brought in his experience and he said, “Stick with the Jamā‘ah,” – be with the group, beclose to the group of the Muslims – “because the wolf eats from the stray sheep.” So Rasūlullāhﷺ learned as a shepherd that if one sheep goes astray, that will be the target of the wolf; the wolf will not hit the flock, the wolf will hit the one that is alone. And we are weak as these sheep when it comes to Shaitān, Shaitān can tempt us and attack us.

We are Affected by the Environment we Work In: We talked about the weakness of sheep and how similar that is to our weakness, but there is another important lesson to learn, and this is the fact that we are affected by the environment we work in; our work leaves permanent influence on our personality. Shepherds of sheep are different than shepherds of camels and shepherds of cows, shepherds of sheep are different than cowboys, and cowboys are different than shepherds of camel. Why? Because they are dealing with a different animal. Sheep tend to be very compassionate, very merciful, and they are weak, so the shepherd learns to become merciful and kind with them because they are very fragile animals; you cannot be too harsh with sheep. So the Ambiyā’ of Allāh learn how to be compassionate with their followers. But when it comes to camels for example, camels tend to be very arrogant animals, and you cannot be soft with a camel otherwise it will take advantage of you. With a camel you have to meet that arrogance with strength, you meet the pride with pride, and that makes the shepherds of camels rough, and it makes them very tough, and they could be rude, and that is something that is learnt because of the environment that they are living in. And we could talk about the qualities or the characteristics of cows and draw their influence on their shepherds.

What you do affects you. Teachers tend to have a different personality than doctors, doctors have a different personality than engineers, engineers have a different personality than skilled workers, farmers have different personalities than so and so; your work affects your personality. So after being a doctor for a few years, you lose the ablity to write, you start scribbling. Being a teacher for a very long time makes a person such a fatherly figure and he is always giving advice. They might do this with people who are their peers, but because they are used to dealing with children, they start dealing with others in a similar way. People who stay in the academic field for a very long time tend to be very scholarly, even when they are outside the academic world; the way they speak, the sophistication of their talk, the words that they pick would be different than someone who has less education. And mechanics, since they are always dealing with machines, would tend to have a personality that is different than a farmer who is always dealing with plants and is close to nature.

Actually, the influence is both ways; your personality will affect your profession and your profession will affect you, because people with a certain interest would tend to choose a profession that suits their personality, but then that profession would push them further in those traits and they would end up developing those. People who stay in the political world for a very long time tend to be more deceptive than others – and it also depends on the political situation that you are working in – because that is your daily business, that is how you have to be from morning till night. For example, an actor, somebody who is always acting, putting on a different face, imitating a different personality; that teaches them something, doesn’t it? It affects their personality. So our work affects us, therefore as a Muslim you need to be careful on what type of work you do. Now, this is not to say that we should not spread in different fields, but keep in mind that you need to choose a work that would suit your personality, and also keep in mind that your work will affect you and influence you. Every type of work out there has something good in it, try to take advantage of that good and try to eliminate the bad of the field. I mentioned for example being deceptive and lying in politics. Now, that does not mean that we should not go into that field, because as Muslims we need to change that image of politics. With the Sahābah, almost every Sahābï had that involvement. When you look at a certain time after Rasūlullāhﷺ passed away, you would rarely find a Sahābï who did not assume office in one place or another, whether it was a governorship, or whether it was mayor-ship of a town, or whether it was leading an army, but the political environment they lived in was absolutely different than what we have today; it was an environment of honesty and straight-forwardness, and being accountable and responsible to the people and serving them. So our work does affect and influence us.

Comments by Ibn Hajar Al-‘Asqalānī : Enough said about shepherds of sheep. Ibn Hajar – a side note here but just a little bit about him – Ibn Hajar is one of the classical scholars, he wrote the most prominent commentary on Sahīh Al-Bukhārī. Ibn Hajar was a scholar in different fields; Hadīth, Fiqh, ‘Aqīdah. His commentary on Bukhārī is the most famous and the most prominent. There are other commentaries on Bukhārī, but none of them gained the [same] prominence as Fath Al- Bārī by Ibn Hajar Al-‘Asqalānī. Since this Hadīth is in Bukhārī, here I have a quote from Ibn Hajar commenting on this particular Hadīth, he says,

“The wisdom behind having the Prophets as shepherds before Prophethood is that they may become skilled in herding a flock, as they will be responsible for their respective nations in the future. In herding, one attains forbearance and mercy and it endues patience, for when a shepherd is obliged to gather his flock and herd it from one area to another at once, knowing the traits of all, and all the while protecting the flock from predators, he has thus attained the skills necessary to lead a nation and protect it from its enemies, both within and abroad. Thus the Prophets learned patience when leading their people and attained an understanding of the different natures of people, they learned to show kindness to the weak and resolve with the dominant. The reasons for which Allāh had chosen the sheep for the Prophets as opposed to the communal cows or camels, is that they are animals that are weak and need extra guidance and attention. Sheep are more difficult to maintain as a flock because of their propensity to go astray and wander away. This is akin to human traits within a society, and it is the divine wisdom of Allāh to train these Prophets accordingly. The Prophet’sﷺ mentioning of this humble trait shared by all Prophets attests to his humility to Allāh.”

Muhammad Al-‘Abdah, who is a current writer, also comments on this [Hadīth] and he states: “This faith excels through the free-thinkers, the courageous, the intelligent, and those who are just; and one cannot encompass it except by distancing themselves from lowly character. It is therefore incumbent upon the Muslims to take on the pure characteristics embodied in humanity’s natural disposition. This was the example that was sought by the early Khalīfah ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb when he pleaded with his people to toughen up and learn how to ride a steed, he feared for his people the longing for this life and adopting reprehensible characteristics. This does not mean that one must abandon an urban living in order to achieve the stated objectives, but it does mean that one should abandon those things in their life that turned them away from the difficulties of this Message.”

Muhammad Al-‘Abdah is actually commenting on Rasūlullāhﷺ living as a shepherd in the desert and also Rasūlullāhﷺ being brought up in the desert in the early years of his life. And then he draws in the saying of ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb when he was a Khalīfah, he could have access to the best that this world could offer, but he still lived a simple life, and he was warning the Muslims, telling them that you need to toughen up, because this Message demands sometimes you going through some difficult situations and you need to be prepared and ready for that. Da’wah is one aspect; a Dā‘iyah cannot be sincere and be whole-heartedly involved in Da’wah ifthey cannot have patience and they are not willing to go into situations that might be difficult.

2.7 Marriages of Rasūlullāhﷺ

2.7.1 Rasūlullāhﷺ and Khadījah

The next important event is the marriage of Rasūlullāhﷺ to Khadījah. Khadījah was a well-known and prosperous woman in Makkah, she was wealthy. She was not married, she was old in age, and she used to hire a man to travel for her and do business, because the trade of the people of Makkah used to be based on travelling to Yemen and Syria, Ash-Shām, Allāh describes that in Sūrah Quraish: For the accustomed security of the Quraysh – Their accustomed security [in] the caravan of winter and summer. Let them worship the Lord of this House, Who has fed them, [saving them] from hunger and made them safe, [saving them] from fear. Sūrah Quraish. They had a journey of winter and ajourney of summer; one to Yemen and one to Ash-Shām.

Khadījah Hires Rasūlullāhﷺ: So Khadījah would hire men to work for her and take care of her business. She happened to hire Muhammadﷺ; she heard about his honesty and she was running into trouble with a lot of men who were not being honest, so she wanted to hire someone who was trustworthy. She heard about Muhammadﷺ so she hired him, and she had her servant accompany Muhammadﷺ, her servant’s name was Maisarah. Muhammadﷺ went to Ash-Shām, did business for her, came back, and Maisarah reported back to his master. Maisarah went to Khadījah and told her, “This man’s trustworthiness and honesty is amazing, it is outstanding,” and he was praising Muhammadﷺ.

Rasūlullāhﷺ Marries Khadījah : Well, Khadījah became very interested in Muhammadﷺ; his character was admirable. Khadījah , who was a wealthy woman, who was sought after by the noble men of Quraish, she said, “I want to marry you,” and Rasūlullāhﷺ agreed. Rasūlullāhﷺ was 25 and she was 40, the difference was 15 years; she was his senior. And Rasūlullāhﷺ never married anyone else before Khadījah passed away. All of the surviving children of Rasūlullāhﷺ were from Khadījah ; Fātimah was the daughter of Khadījah , she bore six children for him; Zainab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthūm, Fātimah, Al-Qāsim and ‘Abdullāh. And none of them ended up having descendants except Fātimah , and that is where the lineage of Rasūlullāhﷺ is continuing; through the descendants of Fātimah and ‘Alï.

Rasūlullāh’sﷺ Love for Khadījah : Rasūlullāhﷺ loved Khadījah so much, and Rasūlullāh kept his loyalty to Khadījah even after she passed away; he would always remember her, always mention her name, and that sometimes would cause jealousy among the other wives of Rasūlullāhﷺ. But Rasūlullāhﷺ had so much love and admiration for Khadījah and so much respect for her because Khadījah is the one who stood up for him and supported him when everybody else betrayed Muhammadﷺ. ‘Ā’ishah , who was the most beloved to Rasūlullāhﷺ after that, she would sometimes feel this jealousy. In Sahīh Muslim it says that ‘Ā’ishah said, “I did not become jealous of any of the wives of the Prophetﷺ except Khadījah, and I have not seen her. The Messenger of Allāhﷺ used to at times slaughter a sheep and say, ‘Send it to the friends of Khadījah.’” So not only did Rasūlullāhﷺ always remember her, he kept on maintaining a relationship with the friends of Khadījah. [‘Ā’ishah continues], “And one day I angered him by replying out of jealousy of Khadījah, so heﷺ said, ‘I have been given by Allāh her love.’” Once he mentioned the name of Khadījah, so ‘Ā’ishah was upset, Rasūlullāhﷺ responded and said [that] this is something from Allāh, I was given her love, it is not something that I control; Allāh has put her love in my heart.

In another Hadīth narrated by Ahmad and At- Tirmidhī, ‘Ā’ishah said, “The Messenger of Allāh used to, at many times, not leave his home without praising Khadījah.” This is amazing, how much love Rasūlullāhﷺ had for her. “One of the days he praised her, and out of jealousy I said, ‘Was she not but an elder woman that Allāh has replaced her for you with what is better?’ He became angered and said, ‘No! By Allāh, He did not replace me with anyone better, for she had faith in me when the people rejected, she believed me when the people belied me, she made comfortable with what she had when the people denied me, and Allāh has blessed me with children from her.’” So Rasūlullāhﷺ would become angry when he would hear anything against Khadījah . And this shows us an aspect of the personality of Rasūlullāhﷺ; his loyalty to the people who were close to him. This was years after Khadījah passed away; opportunist people take advantage of a person, and whenever that person is gone, that is the end of the relationship. Rasūlullāhﷺ would always remember his old friends, old relatives; Hamzah Bin ‘Abdul Muttalib, Khadījah , Mus‘ab Bin ‘Umair. In fact, Subhān’Allāh, one amazing thing that brings a person to tears [is that] before Rasūlullāhﷺ passed away, one of the last things he did was to go and visit the cemetery of his friends who died in the Battle of Uhud. The 70 Companions who died in the Battle of Uhud, when Rasūlullāhﷺ felt that he would be leaving Dunyā soon, he went to the cemetery and made Du‘ā’ for them, and he was saying in that Du‘ā’ that soon we will meet. Rasūlullāh was missing them so much, and was asking Allāh to bring him with them and to join them together in Jannah.

So Rasūlullāhﷺ had this strong relationship with his Sahabah and loyalty, and he never forgot his wife Khadījah who stood with him in moments of difficulty, he never forgot that, and he would continuously make Du‘ā’ for her and mention her name. And Khadījah was a special person; Khadījah , when she was living, Jibrīl descended on Muhammadﷺ and said, “Khadījah is going to approach you now and she is carrying for you some food, when she arrives, tell her that Allāh is giving her Salām, and tell her that I am giving her Salām.” That is how special Khadījah was; Allāh sends down Jibrīl to tell Khadījah that I am giving Salām to you, and Jibrīl is then adding his own Salām to the statement and telling Muhammadﷺ, “And tell her that Jibrīl is giving her his Salām.” And then Jibrīl said, “And give her the glad-tidings of a palace in Paradise.” So she was granted a place in Jannah.

Khadījah among Four Greatest Women who Ever Lived : Khadījah is one of the four greatest women that ever lived. Rasūlullāhﷺ says that the greatest women that ever set foot on the face of the earth are four; Maryam Bint ‘Imrān, Khadījah Bint Khuwaylid, Fātimah Bint Muhammad, and Āsiyah Bint Muzāhim; these are the greatest women. The greatest among them is Maryam by the verse in Qur’ān: And [mention] when the angels said, “O Mary, indeed Allāh has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds.” Āl-‘Imrān: 42

[She isthe greatest woman] by the statement of Qur’ān. Second is Khadījah, she is number two; she was the second greatest woman. Number three; Fātimah Bint Muhammad, and number four; Āsiyah Bint Muzāhim. And all of these four women had something to do with a Nabï; two of them were ones who brought up Ambiyā’ – Maryam brought up ‘Īsā, she was his mother, and Āsiyah brought up Mūsā. And then Khadījah was the wife of a Nabï, and Fātimah was the daughter of a Nabï.

Answering Orientalists – The Professional Enemies of Islam: Rasūlullāhﷺ reached the age of 25, and in his Seerah, Rasūlullāhﷺ was known as being chaste in an environment that was corrupt. And the reason why I am bringing this up is because some of the orientalists, the ones who are professional enemies of Islām, use that as [a way of showing] their animosity towards Islām, it is their role in life, they try to attack the person of Rasūlullāhﷺ, and one of the areas that they attack is his marriage life. They talk a lot about his marriage to ‘Ā’ishah, they talk about the fact that he married 12 women, and they try to accuse Muhammadﷺ of being a womaniser. So let us look at the marriage life of Rasūlullāhﷺ, let us study it.

Rasūlullāhﷺ Remains Chaste in an Environment that is Corrupt:
Number One: Rasūlullāhﷺ reaches the age of 25 in an environment where Zinā’ – adultery and fornication, is widespread. And you might have read the Hadīth of ‘Ā’ishah which is in Bukhārī where she talks about the four different [types of] relationships that existed between men and women; one of them was the traditional marriage, the other one was brothels that were legal in Makkah, and they would have flags on top of them as signs for anybody who is interested in this corrupt behaviour, and then they had this other type of relationship where a woman would sleep with a group of men which could go up to 10, and then if she becomes pregnant and she delivers, then she could call these men in and she could just pick any one out of them and say that you are the father of the child. And [the fourth type was where] they had this strange relationship where a man would allow his wife to sleep with a noble man in order to have some noble lineage. So it was quite a corrupt environment; young men would party and sleep with women with whom they had no legal relationship. Rasūlullāhﷺ lives up to the age of 25 and he was able to fight the tide and stay away from all of this corruption, all the way until he reached the age of 25. So that is number one.

Rasūlullāhﷺ Marries Woman Fifteen Years his Senior
Number Two: At the age of 25, he chooses to marry a woman who is 15 years older than himself, and she is divorced. Now, Rasūlullāhﷺ, being from the noble family of Banū Hāshim, he could have chosen for himself any woman he wanted in Makkah, and if he was interested in these desires, he would have chosen for himself a young woman to marry rather than marrying a lady who is 15 years older than him; she was 40 years old when Rasūlullāhﷺ married her.

Rasūlullāhﷺ Remains with Khadījah until Fifty
Number Three: Rasūlullāhﷺ remains with Khadījah until he reaches the age of 50, and we know that the age in which men would have strong desires towards women would be from a young age to around the age of 50; that is the young age of a man when the desires would be the strongest. So for Rasūlullāhﷺ to remain married to Khadījah in a very happy marriage – and it is not reported at all that Rasūlullāhﷺ had any intentions of marrying anyone else, he did not even contemplate the idea, there are no reports of that – so for Rasūlullāhﷺ to continue with Khadījah from the age of 25 to the age of 50, is a clear indication that Rasūlullāhﷺ had none of those thoughts in his mind, and I think this completely destroys that argument.

After Khadījah passes away, Rasūlullāhﷺ remains as a bachelor for about two to three years. Later on, he marries another widow, As-Sayyidah Sawdah. The reasons for him marrying Sawdah are because Sawdah was in Abyssinia, she came back to Makkah, and her husband passed away. So Rasūlullāhﷺ, out of care for his Companions, he married her; husband died, she does not have anyone to provide for her, [so] Rasūlullāhﷺ marries her. And she was quite old in age, because later on in Madīnah, we know that Sawdah ended up giving up her night to ‘Ā’ishah because she was very old in age.

2.7.2 Wisdom behind Rasūlullāh’sﷺ Many Marriages

Suddenly, within the last 10 years of [the life of] Rasūlullāhﷺ, Rasūlullāh married many women to the extent that when he died, he left behind nine widows. So how come this change? From the age of 25 to 50 he only married Khadījah , but then within the last 10 years of his life he marries and he leaves behind nine widows. What are the reasons?

Number One: Forging Alliances with Different Tribes: When we study the marriage life of Rasūlullāhﷺ , we need to look at the life of Rasūlullāhﷺ comprehensively. The Messenger of Allāh Muhammadﷺ devoted all of his efforts – underline all – all of his efforts, for the promotion of Islām. Everything that he would do, even his decisions in marriage, would be based on the benefit of Islām. Whatever Rasūlullāhdid in his life, the intention of it was to promote the Religion of Allāh. He would not do anything to purely satisfy his human desires, he would do it to please Allāh . Therefore we need to look at his marriage life in this light. He married a few of his wives to forge alliances with different tribes, to bring them closer to Islām, like his marriage of Juwairiyyah which ended up making the whole tribe of Banū Mustaliq becoming Muslim.

Number Two: Caring for his Companions: Caring for his Companions, his followers, like the example we gave of Sawdah .

Number Three: Strengthening of Ties with his Closest Companions: Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted to strengthen his ties with his closest Companions. Rasūlullāhﷺ had a strong brotherly feeling towards his Companions, and there was a special group among them with whom Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted to have a stronger relationship, and that was not only an Islāmic brotherhood but to add to it family ties. And for someone who did not experience Islāmic brotherhood, it is difficult for them to appreciate this. What if you have lived like Rasūlullāhﷺ with his Companions for 23 years? What bond would develop between them? They were, Subhān’Allāh, together in moments of ease and in moments of difficulty, on the battlefield and in times of peace, they would eat together, travel together. The relationship that Rasūlullāh had with the Sahābah was so strong. When we get into the Madīnah era and we talk about the time when Rasūlullāhﷺ passed away and the feelings of loss that the people of Madīnah had, it is something that we cannot even describe. So Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted to strengthen the relationship between him and his close Companions. So Rasūlullāhﷺ married the daughter of Abū Bakr, and he married the daughter of ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb, and he married his daughter to ‘Uthmān Ibn ‘Affān , and when this daughter of Rasūlullāhﷺ passed away, he married ‘Uthmān [to] another of his daughters, and then she passed away, [and] Rasūlullāh Said, “If I had 99 daughters, I would marry them to ‘Uthmān Ibn ‘Affān one after another.” Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted to have this relationship between him and ‘Uthmān Ibn ‘Affān. And he married his most beloved daughter Fātimah to ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib. So now he had a family relationship between him and the four Khulafā’; Abū Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmān and ‘Alï.

Number Four: Conveying the Religion: Number four, and this is very important; conveying the Religion. We are to follow the Sunnah of Rasūlullāhﷺ. He has a Sunnah as a statesman, a Sunnah as a teacher, a Sunnah as an Imām, a Sunnah as a military leader, and he has a Sunnah as a family man. Now, we have hundreds of Companions to convey to us his Sunnah as a statesman, hundreds of Companions to tells us how he acted as a military leader, we have hundreds of Companions to tell us how we was as a teacher and as an Imām; how many do we have to tell us about his family life? How many? Rasūlullāh did not have a lot of children who survived him, only Fātimah, so who would convey to us his family life? It is his wives. Now, if Rasūlullāh only had one wife, first of all, it would be difficult on this one wife to recall every aspect of the family life of Rasūlullāhﷺ. Number two, she could easily be discredited because we only have one source, and we know the vicious attack that is being directed at Abū Hurairah because the enemies of Islām know that if they can discredit Abū Hurairah they can completely destroy over 5,000 of the sayings of Rasūlullāhﷺ; by discrediting one man, they could undermine 5,000 of the Ahādīth of Rasūlullāhﷺ.

And we already know that that has happened for a fact, there is an attack on Abū Hurairah. And the family life of Rasūlullāhﷺ was one of the most important aspects of his Sunnah because it relates to every one of us; not every one of us will be an Imām, not everyone will be a military leader, not everyone will be a statesman, not everyone will be a teacher, but almost everyone in the Ummah will be a member of a family. So how will they learn on how to conduct their lives as members of a family without receiving information about how Rasūlullāhﷺ was a family man? Therefore Rasūlullāhﷺ had multiple wives so that they would convey to us this body of knowledge of how Rasūlullāhﷺ acted in his private life. Many of the Sunnan relating to how Rasūlullāhﷺ treated his wives, how he treated his servants, how he ate, how he dressed, how he would spend his time at home, his ‘Ibādah at night; that was all conveyed to us by the wives of Rasūlullāhﷺ. So it is not only limited to the section of family Sunnah, but it also relates to the ‘Ibādah; how Rasūlullāhﷺ would spend his nights – how did we know that? It was through the wives of Rasūlullāhﷺ.

So having multiple wives, first of all, they compensate each other, so if one of them forgets, the other would remember. Number two, you have more than one chain of narration; it is coming through multiple sources rather than one. And number three, it becomes impossible to discredit, because now we have more than one person involved. And that is an extremely important thing for us, and remember, Allāh has sent Muhammadﷺ as a living embodiment of Qur’ān, and therefore Allāh guaranteed that hisﷺ Sunnah will reach to us because it is part of the promise of Allāh to protect Qur’ān; the protection of Qur’ān is not only that the words of Qur’ān will be protected but also part of its interpretation by Rasūlullāhﷺ would survive, and that was done through the Sahābah and most importantly through the wives of Rasūlullāhﷺ. So for us, the Ummah, it was very critical that Rasūlullāhﷺ had multiple wives, and that was why he was excluded from the ruling of having four or less [wives]; Allāh has allowed him to have more because of the special circumstances of Muhammadﷺ, this was done and destined by Allāh as a protection of His religion.

2.7.3 Controversy Surrounding Rasūlullāh’sﷺ Marriages to ‘Ā’ishah and Zainab

Now, the two most controversial marriages of Rasūlullāhﷺ are his marriage to ‘Ā’ishah and his marriage to Zainab Bint Jahsh; these are the most targeted marriages of Rasūlullāhﷺ. We do not have a lot of complaints about his marriage to Umm Salamah or Umm Habībah or Sawdah, but there are a lot of attacks directed at his marriages to ‘Ā’ishah and Zainab Bint Jahsh. ‘Ā’ishah because Rasūlullāhﷺ married her at the age of six, and the marriage was consummated at the age of nine. And the attack against Zainab Bint Jahsh is because she was married to his adopted son and then Rasūlullāhﷺ married her later on. So these are the two marriages where you have a lot of controversy, so let us look at these two particular cases.

Subhān’Allāh, it so happens that the two particular marriages that are targeted are the only two marriages of Rasūlullāhﷺ that were divinely instructed; none of the other marriages of Rasūlullāhﷺ were instructed by Allāh except these two. His marriage to Zainab was instructed in Qur’ān in Sūrah Al-Ahzāb: And [remember, O Muhammad], when you said to the one on whom Allāh bestowed favour and you bestowed favour, “Keep your wife and fear Allāh,” while you concealed within yourself that which Allāh is to disclose. And you feared the people, while Allāh has more right that you fear Him. So when Zayd had no longer any need for her, We married her to you in order that there not be upon the Believers any discomfort concerning the wives of their adopted sons when they no longer have need of them. And ever is the command of Allāh accomplished. Al-Ahzāb: 37
[In this Āyah, Allāh states:] So when Zayd had no longer any need for her, We married her to you. Soit is in Qur’ān.

And the marriage of Rasūlullāhﷺ to ‘Ā’ishah was divinely inspired through the dream which Rasūlullāhﷺ saw, and this dream is mentioned in Bukhārī. Rasūlullāhﷺ says, “Jibrīl came to me, and I saw you (‘Ā’ishah) wearing a silk dress, and when I uncovered you – (this is in the dream, before Rasūlullāh marries her) – when I uncovered you, I saw you, and Jibrīl told me, ‘This is your wife in Dunyā and in Ākhirah.’” So Rasūlullāhﷺ saw a woman, and when he took a look at her, it was Ā’ishah, and then Jibrīl told him, “This is your wife in Dunyā and in Ākhirah.” And Rasūlullāhﷺ saw this dream twice, and we know that the dreams of the Ambiyā’ are all Revelation; Ru’yal Ambiyā’ Wahī – Rasūlullāh says that the dreams of Ambiyā’ are Revelation. So the marriage of Rasūlullāhﷺ to ‘Ā’ishah is instructed by Allāh, and the marriage of Rasūlullāhﷺ to Zainab was instructed by Allāh.

Response to Muslims: So you have two types of people who would attack this; one type would be Muslims who have weak faith and they wonder how Rasūlullāhﷺ would do something like this. The response to them would be; it was not Rasūlullāhﷺ who did it, he was commanded by Allāh to do it. So as a Muslim, do you believe in the command of Allāh or not? It was an exceptional situation that is not allowed for you, that is why it is not part of the Sunnah of Rasūlullāhﷺ; we cannot marry more than four, that is not part of the Sunnah that we follow, and also his situation with ‘Ā’ishah is also not something that is allowed for us, it was an exception that was made for Rasūlullāhﷺ for particular reasons which I will talk about. But for a Muslim this would be the response, that these were divinely commanded by Allāh therefore we have no right to question them, it was not something that was initiated by Muhammadﷺ, it was done by Allāh.

Response to Kuffār: Now, for the ones who are not Muslim and are attacking Rasūlullāhﷺ and saying that this is an act of, you know, all of the horrible accusations that are directed at Rasūlullāhﷺ, the response will be that your problem is not really that Rasūlullāhﷺ married ‘Ā’ishah, your problem is that you do not believe that he is the Messenger of Allāh, you do not believe that he was receiving Revelation, so your problem runs deeper. The issue of bringing up ‘Ā’ishah is just a front in order to attack Islām; even if Rasūlullāhﷺ did not do it, you would still be attacking him. [As with the response to the Muslims,] we can still say that this was divinely instructed, [but] the response will be, ‘Well how convenient it is, whenever there is something that seems strange, you say that God commanded it,’ – that could be a response; they would say, ‘Well these particular two marriages that we are attacking, you say that God is the One who instructed them.’ The response will be that we need to then discuss the issue of whether Rasūlullāhﷺ was a Prophet of Allāh or not, and that would settle the argument. If he is the Prophet of Allāh, then we have no right to question what Allāh told him to do. If we establish that he was a Messenger of Allāh receiving Revelation from Allāh, then whatever Allāh tells him to do, we should accept it. If Allāh tells one of us to stand against the wall with one foot up in the air until we die, we have no right to question that; it is God who is instructing us to do it, who am I to go against what my Creator wants me to do? Allāh owes nothing to us and we owe everything to Him. Therefore if something is instructed by Allāh, I do not have to understand why it is that I am instructed to do this, I just have to do it.

So I hope that we get the point here, that the enemies of Islām are attacking the marriage of Rasūlullāhﷺ to ‘Ā’ishah. Even if that did not happen, the attack would still continue, because their problem is that they do not believe in Islām, they do not believe that Muhammadﷺ is the Messenger of Allāh, they do not believe that he was receiving Revelations from Allāh. So it is pointless to argue on the point of ‘Ā’ishah because there is a major problem, and that is they do not accept him altogether, and that would take us back to the accusations of the people of Quraish that were thrown at Muhammadﷺ; Allāh revealed: We know that you, [O Muhammad], are saddened by what they say. And indeed, they do not call you untruthful, but it is the verses of Allāh that the wrongdoers reject. Al-An‘ām: 33

They are not disbelieving you; they are disbelieving the Message of Allāh.

They are attacking you because you are the Messenger. They are not attacking your personality just because of your personality, they are attacking you because you are conveying the Message of Allāh to them. So these attacks that are hurdled at Muhammadﷺ are because he is the Messenger of Allāh.

2.7.4 The Significance of Rasūlullāh’sﷺ Marriage to ‘Ā’ishah

Marriage of Rasūlullāhﷺ to ‘Ā’ishah is one of the Greatest Blessings of Allāh on the Ummah: Now, the marriage of Rasūlullāhﷺ to ‘Ā’ishah; how come it was so important? Let me make this statement first; one of the greatest blessings of Allāh on us as Muslims, again, one of the greatest blessings of Allāh on us as Muslims, is that Rasūlullāhﷺ married ‘Ā’ishah. This particular marriage that some people have doubts in their hearts due to the fact that Rasūlullāhﷺ marries a girl who is six years old, they do not realise that it would have been a disaster on the Ummah if Rasūlullāhﷺ did not marry ‘Ā’ishah, it is one of the best things that has happened to us.

Ā’ishah Possessed Mind of a Scholar and had an Informal Relationship with Rasūlullāhﷺ : ‘Ā’ishah had a mind of a scholar; she had a very bright mind, [was] very intelligent, and she had an inquisitive nature. ‘Ā’ishah describes herself and says, “The Companions of Rasūlullāhﷺ used to hear the Hadīth of Rasūlullāh and they would immediately follow it, while I would ask Rasūlullāhﷺ questions about it.” ‘Ā’ishah , being the wife of Rasūlullāhand being the most beloved of his wives, had this informal relationship with Rasūlullāhﷺ, so she could afford to question him and ask him, while the others were very respectful of Rasūlullāhﷺ and they would not dare do that. So it needed someone who had this intimate relationship with Rasūlullāhﷺ to be able to ask questions and to enquire about the certain statements of Rasūlullāhﷺ. And [if] you remember, we talked about ‘Amr Ibn Al-‘Aas, and we said how much he loved Rasūlullāhﷺ, and when he was dying he said , ‘If you would ask me to describe to you Rasūlullāhﷺ,I would not be able to do so, because I had such love and admiration and respect for him; I lived with him for years and I could not even look him straight in the eye because of the deep respect that I had for Rasūlullāhﷺ.

But ‘Ā’ishah , being very young and playful at that age, and having a very close relationship with Rasūlullāhﷺ, Rasūlullāh could say something and she would ask, and she would argue with Rasūlullāhﷺ; no one else could afford to do that. So we learned so much because of that. Plus, ‘Ā’ishah had the mind of a scholar, and she became one of the greatest scholars of Islām. Among the top seven narrators of Hadīth, ‘Ā’ishah comes number four; ‘Ā’ishah is one of the top seven narrators of the Ahādīth of Rasūlullāhﷺ. Number one is Abū Hurairah; 5,000 plus, number two, ‘Abdullāh Ibn ‘Umar; 2,600, number three, Anas Ibn Mālik, number four, ‘Ā’ishah ; 2,200. So really the differences between ranks four, three and two is not much, Abū Hurairah is the one who is outstanding, he is almost double the second place. Open any book of Fiqh; it is impossible study a book of Fiqh without going through the name of ‘Ā’ishah, her narrations and her opinions in Fiqh, in every Fiqh – Hanafī, Shāfi‘ī, Hanbalī, Mālikī – ‘Ā’ishah , her knowledge is there. So we have learnt so much from ‘Ā’ishah .

Destiny of Allāh that Rasūlullāhﷺ Marries ‘Ā’ishah : It was the destiny of Allāh that Rasūlullāhﷺ would marry ‘Ā’ishah , and just as it was a divine inspiration to Rasūlullāhﷺ, and maybe he did not think about it before, it was a surprise to Abū Bakr. When Rasūlullāhﷺ went and proposed to Abū Bakr that he wants to marry his daughter, Abū Bakr As-Siddīq was surprised, he said, “I am your brother,” meaning we are very close in age, “I am your brother.” Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “You are my brother and your daughter is appropriate for me”. This was a command from Allāh , and Subhān’Allāh, it was a blessing from Allāh on this Ummah. Sometimes something would appear to be in a certain way, however if we would just dig a little bit deeper, we would see something completely different; But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you. Al-Baqarah: 216

So we should be very proud and happy that Rasūlullāhﷺ married ‘Ā’ishah , and we should be thankful to Allāh that that happened, rather than having these doubts in our hearts and having this fear and inhibition; it is a blessing of Allāh on us. Just a final comment, Rasūlullāhﷺ did not marry any virgin woman except ‘Ā’ishah , and Rasūlullāhﷺ never married any woman who was young except ‘Ā’ishah ; it was an exceptional case. If we want to study the marriage life of Rasūlullāhﷺ that was initiated by him, we need to look at every wife except ‘Ā’ishah and Zainab, and you will know who were the women that Rasūlullāhﷺ was marrying, [like] Sawdah.

Umm Habībah : Umm Habībah [was one of the wives of Rasūlullāhﷺ ], she is the one who migrated to Abyssinia and her husband ‘Ubaidillāh Bin Jahsh converted to Christianity, and she went through a miserable time. [They were] very difficult moments on Umm Habībah, being the daughter of Abū Sufyān, the head of Quraish. So later on her husband passed away, [and] Rasūlullāhﷺ sent a letter with ‘Amr Bin Umayyah Ad-Damrī to send to An-Najāshī, asking An-Najāshī to marry him to Umm Habībah . Because Rasūlullāhﷺ had sympathy for what Umm Habībah went through, Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted to marry her even though she was hundreds of miles away. The scholars say that was the furthest marriage of Rasūlullāhﷺ ; she was in Abyssinia and he was in Madīnah. So it was symbolic to first of all take care of Umm Habībah, [and] also, Umm Habībah was the daughter of Abū Sufyān, so Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted to bring the staunchest enemies of Islām closer, he wanted to soften their stance. And when Abū Sufyān heard of the news that Rasūlullāhﷺ married his daughter, even though Abū Sufyān was now the leader of Quraish – he was their leader in fighting Islām – Abū Sufyān was happy that this marriage took place, he said, “And who is better to marry than Muhammadﷺ.” Abū Sufyān knew the lineage of Muhammadﷺ so that is how he looked at it. [He was thinking] he is from Banū Hāshim, it is an honour for us to marry our daughter to someone from Banū Hāshim; our issue with him is because of religion. So he was proudand happy that his daughter got married to Muhammadﷺ. So that softened Abū Sufyān a little bit, it brought him closer to Islām. [Alongside this,] Rasūlullāhﷺ also intended in taking care of Umm Habībah in those difficult moments that she was going through.

Umm Salamah : Another marriage [of Rasūlullāhﷺ ] would be [that of] Umm Salamah. Umm Salamah was also one of the ones who made Hijrah to Abyssinia, then they came back and they went to Madīnah. Later on, Abū Salamah passed away, [and] Rasūlullāhﷺ married Umm Salamah.

Rasūlullāhﷺ – The Father of this Ummah: So he would take care of the wives of his Companions who died, and these were older women, but Rasūlullāhﷺ is the Father of this Ummah, just like his wives are called Mothers of the Ummah. What is the name given to the wives of Rasūlullāhﷺ? Ummahātil Mu’mineen – The Mothers of the Believers. So Rasūlullāhﷺ viewed himself as a caretaker of this Ummah. Even if he does not have a direct blood-relationship with this Ummah, he still felt that he is their father. So he would take care of their needy, he would take care of the hungry, and that is the statement that [came up] in the conversation that happened between Asmā’ Bint ‘Umays and ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb, when ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb said, “We have more rights to Rasūlullāhﷺ than you, because we made Hijrah before you.” Asmā’ Bint ‘Umays had just arrived from Abyssinia. Asmā’ Bint ‘Umays responded by saying, “No, that is not true. You were with Rasūlullāhﷺ; Yut‘imu Jā‘i’akum – he was feeding the hungry among you, Wa Yu‘allim Jāhilakum – and was teaching the ignorant among you.” So Rasūlullāhﷺ was the father of this Ummah, and that is how his marriage life, even, is a reflection of that.

2.8 History of Al-Ka’bah

2.8.1 The Flood :

An important event occurred during the Prophethood of Muhammadﷺ; a flood had affected the structure of Al-Ka’bah. Al- Ka’bah is located in a low valley between mountains, and Makkah was once flooded, and the flood had caused cracks on the walls of Al-Ka’bah. So the people of Quraish felt the need to rebuild Al- Ka’bah again. Now, Al-Ka’bah in total has been built and rebuilt five or four times, depending on who was the first to build it. There is a difference of opinion on whether Ibrāhīm was the first to build Al-Ka’bah; some scholars refer our father Ādam as the first one to build Al-Ka’bah, however, the majority opinion is that it was Ibrāhīm who first built it. Now, the ones who say that Ādam was the one who built it, they say that we are not contradicting Qur’ān because Qur’ān says: And [mention] when Abraham was raising the foundations of the House and [with him] Ishmael, [saying], “Our Lord, accept [this] from us. Indeed You are the Hearing, the Knowing.” Al-Baqarah: 127

They say that Qur’ān states thatIbrāhīm was raising the foundations of the House, meaning there was already something there for him to raise above it. So they say that the foundations of the House were established in the time of Ādam , but the common belief among our scholars is that it was Ibrāhīm who first built it. However, there is no dispute in the holiness of the place since the earth was created; all of our scholars say that even if it was not Ādam who first built it, the place was sacred, was holy, and was visited by the Prophets of Allāh. So they say it used to be like a small hill which was destined as a sacred and holy place and the Ambiyā’ of Allāh would visit it. And we have references of quite a few Ambiyā’ visiting the House of Allāh. There is a Hadīth that states Hūd visited Al-Ka’bah, there is a Hadīth that says that Sālih visited, and Nūh. And there is a saying attributed to Rasūlullāhﷺ that ‘Īsā , when he comes down again, when he descends to Earth in his second-coming, he will make Hajj. So it is either Ādam or Ibrāhīm who first built Al-Ka’bah, but we all know that it was the first House built for the Remembrance of Allāh; Indeed, the first House [of worship] established for mankind was that at Makkah – blessed and a guidance for the worlds. Āl ‘Imrān: 96

The first House established for [Allāh’s]worship was theone in Bakkah; Bakkah is also another name for Makkah.

2.8.2 First Rebuilding of Al-Ka’bah

People of Quraish Break Down Al-Ka’bah: So you have Ādam and Ibrāhīm; let us start counting from Ibrāhīm , so [let us assume that] Ibrāhīm was the first [to build Al-Ka’bah]. The second time [Al-Ka’bah was built] is this time we are talking about now, when Makkah was flooded. The people of Quraish wanted to rebuild it, they gathered together and they had to tear it down, but none of them agreed to make that move. So they were all waiting, ready with their equipment around Al-Ka’bah, but no one wanted to go ahead and start breaking it down. This is how much honour and respect they had for Al-Ka’bah, even though at the time they were Mushrikīn, but they feared Allāh and they thought that it was a dangerous thing to tear down the walls of Al-Ka’bah. And then one of them said, “I will be the first to do it,” and he gathered all of his sons and they came early in the morning and they started bringing the rocks of Al- Ka’bah down and they were saying, “O Allāh, do not be afraid, all what we want is good. O Allāh, do not be afraid, all what we want is good.” So you can see their false understanding of the divinity of Allāh ; they were trying to calm God by telling Him, “Do not be afraid, all what we want is good.” Allāh knows what is in your hearts, you do not have to tell Him that. So even though they believed in Allāh, but in terms of the attributes of Allāh – Al-Asmā’ Was-Sifāt, they had some problems with them. So they brought down the walls of Al -Ka’bah. Now, it so happened that there was a Roman ship that had crashed on a port on the Red Sea close to Makkah, so they brought some of the wood on that ship. And there was a Roman builder who was on that ship, so they also had him help with the wood. So this was the first time they made the ceiling of Al-Ka’bah from wood; they used some of this wood from this ship.

People of Quraish Decide to Use Halāl Money Only: Now, the People of Quraish knew that money from interest was no good, and they made a decision that they were only going to use Halāl money in the rebuilding of Al-Ka’bah; they were not going to use money from interest or money from prostitution, because at the time, to show their corruptness, [prostitution was a common business]. And by the way, there is a Hadīth that is narrated by Al -Bukhārī [where] ‘Ā’ishah talks about the types of marriages that existed in Arabia, we will refer to it later on. But prostitution was something that existed, and you would have men hiring their slave-girls as an income-generating source for them, but they knew that this was not good, [yet] they would do it. They would deal with interest, but they knew that this was not good. So they decided that they were not going to use this money in the rebuilding of Al-Ka’bah.

Al-Ka’bah was Originally Rectangular in Shape: Al-Ka’bah originally was a bit of a rectangle rather than a square, it was rectangular in shape. Because the people of Quraish ran short of funds, they ended up shortening Al-Ka’bah from one side, so they made it a square rather than a rectangle to save money. The area of Al-Ka’bah which they left out is what we refer to today as Al- Hijr – the enclosed area in that semi-circle. If you ever visited Al- Ka’bah, you would see that on one side of Al-Ka’bah there is a semi-circle; that used to be part of the original building of Al-Ka’bah. And Al- Ka’bah also had two gates, [and] they made it [into] one. And they raised the doorstep, so now in order to get access to the door you have to climb; the gate was made very high. Rasūlullāhﷺ says in this Hadīth where he talks to ‘Ā’ishah, “Do you not know that your people had insufficient funds for the expenses? If it were not for the fact that your people were only recently Unbelievers, I would have torn down the Ka’bah and made for it one door on the east and another on the west, and I would have included the Hijr area within it.” When Rasūlullāhﷺ opened Makkah, he was thinking about reconstructing Ka’bah on the original foundations, but then he told ‘Ā’ishah that the reason I am not going to do this is because your people just became Muslim, their Islām is soft, their Īmān is weak, and it might be for a Fitnah for them, it might cause them a problem if I reconstruct Al-Ka’bah. So he did not do it.

Dā‘iyah Needs to Take Condition of People into Consideration: There is an important lesson to learn from this Hadīth, and that is that the Dā‘iyah needs to take the condition of the people into consideration. Even though Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted to do this [i.e. build the Ka’bah], but he did not [do so] because he was worried that it might affect the Īmān of the people. So as a person who is calling to Islām, you need to take into consideration the condition of the people who you are directing the Message to. ‘Abdullāh Ibn Mas‘ūd says that if you tell the people something that is beyond their comprehension or understanding or Īmān, it might be a trial for some of them, it might cause a backlash with some people. Sometimes we throw out information on a particular subject which is absolutely true and valid, but because the people are not ready for it yet, because their Īmān is weak, it causes a backlash with them. Some things people just are unable to grasp.

Quraish Raised Door High to Control Access to Al-Ka’bah : Now, Rasūlullāhﷺ said [to ‘Ā’ishah ] that the reason your people Quraish made the door so high was because they wanted to have control of who would go in and out, it was an issue of power. They did not want to make the door low so that it would be accessible to anyone; they made it high so that they could control who would go in and out, it was a matter of influence, having authority. So the door of Al-Ka’bah was raised. Rasūlullāhsaid, “If I would rebuild it, I would lower the gate and I would make for it two gates, so that people could come from one side and leave from the other,” rather than having to come in and out from the same door.

2.8.3 Second Rebuilding of Al-Ka’bah and Placement of the Black Stone

Rasūlullāhﷺ participated in the rebuilding of Al-Ka’bah, and at the time he was maybe around 35 years old – that is a rough estimate. So now the people of Quraish were building Al-Ka’bah, they reached to the holiest part of Al-Ka’bah which is the Black Stone, and now a dispute erupts among them; who will have the honour to place the Black Stone in its spot? Because when they were rebuilding Al-Ka’bah every tribe took responsibility of building one side of it, they all wanted to participate in this honour, but with the Black Stone they disputed; every tribe wanted to have the honour of putting it in its place. Banū ‘Abd Ad- Dār gathered all of their men and they came in front of Al-Ka’bah with a pot of blood, and they placed it in front of everyone and they all stuck their hands in the blood and pulled it out. In other words, they were telling everyone that this is what will happen if we do not place the Black Stone in its place, so it is like pledging to die and to fight; we will do it, otherwise this is what will happen, blood will flow. Even though that was a drastic measure and quite a threat, but that was not enough to deter others. Another tribe went and brought in their own pot of blood, and they started sticking their hands in and pulling them out. And then everybody was bringing their own pots of blood, and it was four or five days [and] they could not solve the problem and war was about to erupt between them.

And then the eldest man among them, Umayyah, had a suggestion. He came and said, “Let us agree that the first man to walk in towards Al -Ka’bah will be given complete authority in judging between us.” So they all gathered next to Al-Ka’bah and they were waiting for the first person to come, and the first person to walk in was Muhammadﷺ. They all stood up and said, “As-Sādiqul Amīn, Radīnā! Radīnā! – The truthful and the trustworthy, we all agree!” Now, they had already agreed that they would give complete authority to the person who would come in, but they were so happy that this person was Muhammadﷺ because they knew that he would not be biased in his ruling. You know, it would be expected that if someone came from a particular family he would give authority to his family to place it in its place, and that was the expected thing, that we are going to leave it randomly for the first one to come in and his family would take it, but when they saw that it was Muhammadﷺ, they were so happy because they knew his fairness, so they told him, “We give you complete authority in solving this dispute.” Rasūlullāhﷺ asked them to bring a piece of cloth; he picked up the Black Stone and he placed it on this cloth. And then he asked a representative from each clan to hold the cloth from one side [each], and then they all raised it up together at the same time, therefore every one of them would participate in lifting the Black Stone, and when they all lifted it up, then he, with his blessed hands, picked up the Black Stone and placed it in its place. So it was Rasūlullāhﷺ who put the Black Stone in its spot. So that was the second time Al-Ka’bah was rebuilt.

2.8.4 Third Rebuilding of Al-Ka’bah

Rasūlullāhﷺ opened Makkah and then he said that if it was not for the fact that the people were new Muslims, I would have rebuilt it on the foundations of Ibrāhīm. Years later, ‘Abdullāh Ibn Az-Zubair became the Amīr of Makkah, [and] he knew of this Hadīth because ‘Ā’ishah was his aunt. ‘Abdullāh Ibn Az- Zubair’s mother was Asmā’ Bint Abī Bakr, the sister of ‘Ā’ishah, so ‘Ā’ishah was his aunt, and he was familiar with this Hadīth, so he decided to rebuild Al-Ka’bah on the original foundations, because now the people had been Muslims for a long time, they were not new Muslims anymore, [therefore] they would be able to handle the situation. He decided that he was going to rebuild Al-Ka’bah, especially since Al- Ka’bah was burnt, because Al-Hajjāj Bin Yūsuf As-Saqafī had laid siege on Makkah. At that time there was a war between ‘Abdullāh Ibn Az- Zubair and Banī Umayyah in Syria, and the army general of Banī Umayyah had laid siege on Makkah, and one of the catapults had hit Al-Ka’bah and it caused some damage and it burnt [Al-Ka’bah]. Now, that damage could have been fixed without tearing down Al-Ka’bah, but ‘Abdullāh Ibn Az-Zubair wanted to take advantage and rebuild Al-Ka’bah on the original foundations, which he did, and he fulfilled the description that was given by Rasūlullāhﷺ in the Hadīth, that he would lower the gate and have an eastern door and a western door and expand the size of Al-Ka’bah towards Al-Hijr – which he did. So that was the third time Al-Ka’bah was rebuilt.

2.8.5 Fourth Rebuilding of Al-Ka’bah

‘Abdullāh Ibn Az-Zubair ended up losing the war and he was killed. Al-Hajjāj Ibn Yūsuf took over. The Khalīfah of that time, ‘Abdul Malik Ibn Marwān, was not familiar with this Hadīth, so he gave his commands to take back Al-Ka’bah to the way it was before ‘Abdullāh Ibn Az-Zubair, so Al-Ka’bah was shortened again according to the way the people of Quraish built it. After the Khilāfah of Banī Umayyah, Banū Al- ‘Abbās were the family of Khulafā’. One of the Khulafā’ of Banī ‘Abbās was thinking about rebuilding Al-Ka’bah again on the original foundations and he consulted Al-Imām Mālik. Imām Mālik told the Khalīfah, and he gave him a very wise answer, “We do not want Al-Ka’bah to be a toy in the hands of kings; they keep changing its size every now and then. Even though the plan of Rasūlullāh and his desire was to build it on the foundations of Ibrāhīm, but let us keep it the way it is and not change it anymore.” Because it was going back and forth on the foundations of Ibrāhīm, and then the way Quraish built it, and then again on the foundations of Ibrāhīm, and Imām Mālik said that the people have known Al-Ka’bah and they have known these stones the way they are; do not keep on changing it, keep it the way it is. And that was a very wise advice from Al-Imām Mālik which the Khalīfah followed.

2.8.6 Ka’bah of Today is Built on the Foundations of Quraish

So the Ka’bah that we have today is built on which foundation? The foundations of Ibrāhīm or the foundations of Quraish? Quraish. But Alhumdulillāh that is something good. Why? If Al-Ka’bah was built on the original foundations of Ibrāhīm, we would have been deprived the chance of praying inside Al-Ka’bah, but since it is shortened, that area which is enclosed by the semi -circle is actually part of Al-Ka’bah, so when you pray in that area, it is as if you have prayed inside Al-Ka’bah. And you know that Rasūlullāhﷺ did pray inside Al-Ka’bah; when he opened Makkah, he prayed eight Rak‘ah inside Al-Ka’bah. So now we have a chance to pray in Al-Hijr, otherwise we would have to get permission to get inside Al-Ka’bah and it would be very cumbersome and difficult, but now you can pray inside Al-Hijr and it will count as if you prayed in Al-Ka’bah.

Size of Al-Ka’bah has Always Remained Constant: Now, over the times, the height of Al-Ka’bah has increased, but the size of it has remained constant. Now, with the stones that Al-Ka’bah is built from, many of them are remnants of the original stones that were used by Ibrāhīm , but not all of them; some other ones were introduced later by Quraish and others.

The Black Stone is the Original Stone given to Ibrāhīm : But the Black Stone is the original stone that was used by Ibrāhīm , the Black Stone has never changed, it is the original stone that was given to Ibrāhīm . And there are many stories about the Black Stone itself; some say it originated from Jannah. There is a Hadīth that is authentic that says that the Black Stone was white, but then it turned black because of the sins of the sons of Ādam. And there is a Hadīth that says that the Black Stone is the Right Hand of Allāh on Earth. So the Black Stone is very special, it is very honoured, and it is very respected, and it is the only part of Al -Ka’bah that is kissed and is the only part of Al-Ka’bah that is pointed to from a distance. Some people point to the Yemeni corner which is wrong, Al-Yemeni corner you can touch it when you are passing by it, but one should not point towards it or greet [it] from a distance, that is only for the Black Stone.So this is the history of Al-Ka’bah.

2.9 Rasūlullāhﷺ Would Spend Time in Solitude

The Prophetﷺ would leave Makkah and spend time in the Cave of Hirā’, in a mountain that is fairly close to Makkah, a few kilometers away from Makkah. Rasūlullāhﷺ would take with him provisions – some food – and he would go and stay in seclusion, solitude, in this cave, worshiping Allāh . And from the cave, it is said that you were able to see Al -Ka’bah in those old days. So Rasūlullāhﷺ would spend days and nights continuously in the cave worshiping Allāh before Prophethood, so he knew Allāh and he was worshipping Allāh in that cave. And this was a chance for Rasūlullāhﷺ to do reflection and contemplation in the creation of Allāh, and this was training for him. Allāh was training him through these moments of reflection and contemplation because they purify the heart. Sa‘eed Hawwā comments on this, he says:

“Solitude was the tradition of some who seek the guidance of Allāh with the Remembrance of Allāh and worship. It was used to illuminate the hearts and remove its shadows by disconnecting it from its heedlessness and desires. Some would advise this in the beginning of the journey to Belief as this was the example of Prophetﷺ when he spent time in solitude before and at the beginning of his Apostleship.”

So as a Muslim you are recommended to spend time alone in Dhikr, for example, early in the morning, after ‘Asr, between ‘Asr and Maghrib on Friday. So you [should] spend time alone remembering Allāh in solitude, and our scholars talked about the benefits of solitude. Now, one should not go into the extremes of leaving the society completely or immersing oneself in the society completely, he should have a middle road. So you spend some time with people socialising, but you also spend time alone between you and Allāh. Qiyām Al-Layl is a chance for solitude; praying at night alone when everyone is asleep, so it is something between you and Allāh. There is an element of sincerity there that might not exist with other ‘Ibādāt that are done collectively. So now you are doing this alone, nobody can see you, you are not showing off. Who are you doing it for? You are doing it for Allāh. So it is very important for one to spend this time in solitude to purify the heart, because the scholars say that too much socialisation, too much laughing, too much attachment to Dunyā, obscures the heart and throws veils on it, and the way to purify the heart is by spending some time worshipping Allāh in solitude. And Allāh says about Tafakkur:

Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding. Who remember Allāh while standing or sitting or [lying] on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens and the earth, [saying], “Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly; exalted are You [above such a thing]; then protect us from the punishment of the Fire.” Āl ‘Imrān: 190-191

SoAllāh is saying here that His servants contemplate in the creation of the heavens and Earth, and they say, ‘O Allāh, You have not created this in vain, there is purpose in creation, there is wisdom in everything that exists.’^v

2.10 In Pursuit of the Truth

The time preceding the Prophethood of Muhammadﷺ was a time of darkness, however, there were some glimpses of light here and there, but they were too few and far in-between, and humanity was in dire need of Hidāyah – guidance. But again, there were some individuals here and there, scattered apart, who had a sense of right and wrong, and their hearts directed them to the truth, and we will talk about a few of these examples.

2.10.1 Zayd Bin ‘Amr Bin Nufayl:

One of them was Zayd Bin ‘Amr Bin Nufayl. Zayd Bin ‘Amr Bin Nufayl went out in search of truth, he travelled out of Makkah searching for the truth. He was from Quraish, but he travelled around in search of guidance. So he went to the Jews and enquired about their religion, but he decided not to follow it. And then he went to the Christians and enquired about their religion, and decided not to follow it. And then in the end he came to learn about the way of Ibrāhīm ; Al-Hanīfiyyah – worshipping Allāh alone, and he became a Hanīfī – a follower of Ibrāhīm . Zayd Ibn ‘Amr Bin Nufayl was a lone voice in this sea of darkness in Makkah. Asmā’ Bint Abī Bakr said, “I have seen Zayd Bin ‘Amr Bin Nufayl with his back leaning on Al-Ka’bah, and he was speaking to his people of Quraish and telling them, ‘O people of Quraish! None of you is following the way of Ibrāhīm except myself.’” Because the people of Quraish used to claim that they were the inheritors of Ibrāhīm, they were the ones following his path, but Zayd Bin ‘Amr Bin Nufayl would tell them [that] none of you is following the true path of Ibrāhīm other than me. Asmā’, the daughter of Abū Bakr, said, “I saw Zayd Bin ‘Amr Bin Nufayl leaning his back against the Ka’bah saying, ‘O tribe of Quraish! By Him in Whose Hand is Zayd’s soul, not one of you apart from myself follows the religion of Ibrāhīm.’ He would also say, ‘O God! If only I knew the way most favoured by You, I would worship you by it, but I do not know.’”

Subhān’Allāh, he believed in Allāh, he knew the truth, but he did not know how to apply it, how to worship Allāh , he did not have a Sharī‘ah to follow. He has the Belief, he has the faith, and he wants to pray to Allāh , but he does not know how. And there are people like Zayd in every time, people whose hearts guide them to the truth. They know that there is no God but one, and they want to worship Allāh , but they have not been exposed to the way [in which] to do it. And in fact, some reverts have been through such an experience. I know of one brother who later on became a Muslim, he became a Muslim at the age of 40, he used to say that in my heart I knew that Allāh is one and Allāh had no son, and I would not drink and I would not eat pork because I thought that these are not good, and I would avoid the sins that people would participate in; I felt that in my heart, and I wanted to pray to Allāh , but I would not know how, until I learnt about Islām. So here you have Zayd Ibn ‘Amr Bin Nufayl going through the same experience, he is saying, ‘O Allāh, I want to pray to you but I do not know how.’ And we will talk about Abū Dharr who has some similar words.

It is amazing to see how many things Zayd knew by his natural disposition. For example, he would not participate in the killing of girls that existed in Makkah, in fact, whenever he heard about a father [who was] about to kill his daughter, he would go to that father and say, “Give her to me, I will take care of her.” So he would adopt all of these girls and raise them up. It says here, “He would give life back to girls about to be killed at birth, telling a man wishing to kill his daughter, ‘Do not kill her, give her to me to look after. When she grows up, you can take her back, or if you wish, give her to me.’” So he would raise up these daughters and then go back to the father and say, ‘If you want her back, here she is, otherwise I would still take care of her.’ He used to refuse to eat the meat that was slaughtered in Makkah. It mentions that once a meal was presented to Rasūlullāhﷺ; some meat; Rasūlullāhﷺ refused it and he passed it over, so it was given to Zayd Bin ‘Amr Bin Nufayl. Zayd Bin ‘Amr Bin Nufayl said, “I do not eat from this meat which you slaughter for your Gods.” In fact, there is a quotation by him, he would go to the people of Quraish and he would criticise them for slaughtering their beasts in the names of their gods, he would say, “Sheep were created by God, and He brings down from the skies the water that makes vegetation grow for them from the earth, so why do you slaughter them in the name of gods other than Allāh, denying all that and venerating them?” He said that Allāh is the one who created these cattle and you know that, and Allāh is the one who is bringing down rain for them, and then you are slaughtering them in the name of other gods?

Now, Zayd Bin ‘Amr Bin Nufayl died prior to the Prophethood of Rasūlullāhﷺ. His son Sa‘eed was one of the Believers, and he is one of the 10 who were given the glad-tidings of Jannah; Sa‘eed Bin Zayd. Sa‘eed Bin Zayd went to Rasūlullāhﷺ and enquired about his father, he wanted to know what will be the fate of his father, because he had died before Prophethood. Rasūlullāhﷺ told Sa‘eed, “Your father will come on the Day of Judgment as a nation alone.” Rasūlullāhﷺ had given Zayd Bin ‘Amr glad-tidings of Jannah, and he also mentioned that on the Day of Judgment, Zayd Bin ‘Amr Bin Nufayl will be standing as a nation by himself. On the Day of Judgment people are going to be divided into nations, and every nation is led by a Prophet, so you will have the nation of Nūh, the nation of Mūsā, the nation of ‘Īsā, the nation of Ibrāhīm , and you will have the nation of Muhammadﷺ. Because Zayd Bin ‘Amr Bin Nufayl was not part of a particular nation of a Prophet, he will come on the Day of Judgment as his own nation, he will be standing alone. And that is also an honour for Zayd Bin ‘Amr Bin Nufayl that he is standing on the Day of Judgment alone and Allāh will grant him Jannah, because he knew the truth and he worshipped Allāh the best he could.

2.10.2 Waraqah Bin Naufal

Another example is Waraqah Bin Naufal. Waraqah Bin Naufal was the cousin of Khadījah . Waraqah Bin Naufal was a Christian, and he was a lettered man, and he used to copy some of the scripture of the Christians and study from it, and he had some of these scrolls, and he was a believer in one God; he was a believer in Allāh . And again, there were some Christians here and there who still believed in the Oneness of Allāh and they would not attribute divinity to ‘Īsā , [and] Waraqah Bin Naufal was one of them. And Waraqah Bin Naufal was the one Khadījah consulted when Rasūlullāh

first received the Revelation. Immediately after that, Waraqah Bin Naufal passed away, so people were wondering what would happen to Waraqah Bin Naufal, and some of them were saying Waraqah Bin Naufal is in Hellfire because he died before Rasūlullāhﷺ started preaching the Message. Even though Rasūlullāh had received the Message, but he had not started preaching it yet, and Waraqah Bin Naufal died before that, so they said that he would be in Hellfire. Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “I have seen him in a dream and he was wearing white clothes. If he was a man in Hellfire, he would not be wearing white clothes.” Later on Rasūlullāhﷺ saw another dream, and Rasūlullāhﷺ saw that Waraqah Bin Naufal had two gardens in Paradise. So he was in Jannah, because he had the true Belief, he had the right belief.

2.10.3 Salmān Al-Fārsī

Now, the next example is a long one, it is the story of Salmān Al-Fārsī .

Salmān Al-Fārsī Follows Religion of Al-Majūsiyah: Ibn ‘Abbās went to Salmān Al-Fārsī in his old age and he requested Salmān to tell him his story, so Salmān is now narrating his story to Ibn ‘Abbās . He says, “I was a Persian man from Isfahān,” Isfahān is in current day Iran, “from a village called Gee, and my father was the headman of the village, and I was striving and taking pain in the religion of Al-Majūsiyah.”Al-MajūsiyahIthink is translated as Magian, it is a religionwhere they believe in good and evil and they worship fire. So they believe that there are two forces that are fighting good and evil; it is a form of Shirk considered to be Wathāniyah, it is not part of Ahl Al-Kitāb. So Salmān Al-Fārsī says, “I took pains to be a good Magian,” and he grew in the religion until he became the ‘Keeper of the Fire’; he was the one who would light the fire and then never let it go off. So they had this fire; in every village they would have [it] in the Temple of Fire, and the fire needed to be kept by a certain person to ensure that it was always burning, and that was supposed to be a high position in their religion; to be the Keeper of the Fire, the one who is entrusted with the fire.

Salmān Al-Fārsī Discovers Church: He said, “My father owned a large farm. One day he was busy constructing a building of his and he wanted me to go out and take care of business in the farm.” But Salmān Al-Fārsī says, “My father loved me so much, he closeted me in his house and would never let me leave.” So Salmān Al- Fārsī says, “On that particular day, my father was busy with this building of his and he wanted me to go and take care of some business in his farm, but then he told me, ‘O my son, you know how dear you are to me. If you are late, then I will be so concerned about you. And you are more important to me than the farm or my building, so please come early.’”

Salmān Al-Fārsī literally said, “I was kept in his house like a slave-girl, he would not allow me to go anywhere.” Salmān Al-Fārsī left on that day to go and do this business for his father, he said, “I passed by a church for Christians and I heard them pray, so I wanted to go and investigate. I did not know much about people because I never left home, so this was something new to me and I came to realise that there is another religion and some people are praying in a different fashion, so I decided to go in and investigate. I went into the church and I was quite impressed by their method of prayer, I ended up staying with them until sunset and I neglected my father’s work.” He said, “My father was so worried, he started sending out people to find me. I came back late and my father said, ‘O my son, did I not tell you not to be late? What happened?’” Salmān Al-Fārsī said, “I passed next to a church of Christians and I went in to see their prayer, and I forgot to do the job you asked me to.” His father told him, “O my son, their religion is no good, and your religion and the religion of your forefathers is better.” Salmān Al- Fārsī responded to his father and said, “No, their religion is better than ours.”

So now the father of Salmān Al- Fārsī was extremely worried, he ended up chaining his son and imprisoning him at home; he put chains on his legs. He was so terrified and afraid that his son might change his religion that he ended up locking him up at home. When Salmān Al-Fārsī was at the Church, he asked the church members, “Where is the centre of your religion?” [Meaning] where did this religion originate from. So they said, “From the Holy land,” [meaning] from Falastīn, from Ash-Shām. Now, when his father put him in shackles, he managed to send out a message to the Church telling them, “If you ever receive or know of a caravan that is in town from Ash-Shām, let me know.” So a caravan did come in and they sent him word. Salmān Al-Fārsī was able to release himself and run away, and he went with this caravan all the way to the Holy Land in search of the truth.

Salmān Al-Fārsī Travels to Ash-Shām in Search of Truth : Salmān arrived in Syria and he asked [them], “Who is the most learned man that you have in this religion?” He wanted to go and study under the greatest. He was told, “Go to a bishop in this particular church.” He went to the Bishop and he told him, “This is my situation; I came all the way [from Isfahān], I want to study from you.” So the Bishop told him, “You are welcome, you can stay with me.” So he ended up staying with the Bishop in the church, living there. Salmān Al-Fārsī said, “This man used to ask the people to donate, to give alms, charity, and then he would end up keeping it for himself.” Rather than distributing it to the poor, he would keep it to himself. Salmān Al- Fārsī said, “He was such an evil man and I hated him so much, nevertheless I remained with him.” And then when he died, the Christians of that Church wanted to have a burial for him, and Salmān Al-Fārsī went and told them, “This was an evil man.” They said, “How you dare say that?” He said, “I will show you the proof,” and Salmān Al-Fārsī took them to the place where this man used to hide all of the money, and he pulled out seven containers filled with gold and silver; this man was ripping off the people and keeping the money for himself. Salmān Al-Fārsī said, “The people were so angered, they ended up crucifying his dead body and stoning him.”

And then they appointed someone in his place. Now, Salmān Al- Fārsī says about this particular man, “Then they brought another man to take his place, and I never saw a man who did not attend the five Prayers, who was better than he, nor more ascetic, nor more enthusiastic about the Afterlife, nor more devoted both day and night. I loved him as I had never loved before.” So now a truly pious person took his place. Salmān Al-Fārsī ended up spending time with this man, learning from him, studying the Religion, worshipping in the church, but then death started approaching this man; he was already at old age. Salmān Al-Fārsī said, “I went to him when he was on his deathbed and I told him, ‘You know my story and how I came all the way to study this religion, and now since the decree of Allāh is befalling you, who do you entrust me to, who would you recommend for me to continue my study?’” He told him, “My son, I do not know anyone who has done as I have – people have either died or changed or abandoned most of their prior practices – except for one man in Mosul, he practices as I did, so join him.”

Salmān Al-Fārsī Travels to ‘Irāq, Nasībīn and Turkey in Search of Truth: So now Salmān Al-Fārsī is going to travel all the way from Ash- Shām – Falastīn or Syria – to ‘Irāq, Al-Mosul, in search of knowledge. The Bishop died and Salmān Al-Fārsī embarked on that journey, and he went to this Bishop of Al-Mosul and he told him his story, and he said, “You were recommended to me by the Bishop in Ash-Shām. Will you accept me to be with you?” He said, “Yes, of course, you can be my student.” So Salmān Al-Fārsī spent time with him. But this person was also an old man and he was approaching death, so after a short while he was dying, so Salmān Al- Fārsī told him, “I came to this person and he recommended you to me, and now you are passing away, who do you recommend?” He told him, “I do not know of anyone who is following this same path of ours except the Bishop of Nasībīn.” And now Salmān Al-Fārsī was travelling all the way from Mosul to Nasībīn. And he went to the Christian man in Nasībīn and he told him the story, “I went from this person to this person and now I ended up coming to you,” and he spent time with the Bishop of Nasībīn. But then this man was approaching death too, you see, this was a dying breed; they were dying one after another and they were leaving no one behind them to carry on the torch. He went to the scholar in Nasībīn, he spent time with him, and he was dying, and when he was dying he said, “I do not know of anyone who is following our way except a man in ‘Amūriyah,” in Byzantine, Turkey. So now Salmān Al-Fārsī was travelling all the way to Turkey.

The Scholar of ‘Amūriyah Advises Salmān to Await Emergence of the Prophetﷺ: Over there in ‘Amūriyah, in addition to his studies and participation in the worship services, Salmān Al-Fārsī started a business, and he accumulated enough wealth to purchase some sheep and cows. When death was approaching his teacher in ‘Amūriyah, Salmān Al-Fārsī asked him, “Who do you recommend me to study with?” He responded and said, “My son, I do not know anyone who is as we were to whom to send you to. But the time is near for a Prophet being sent with Ibrāhīm’s religion who will come forth in the land of the Arabs, he will move to refuge to somewhere with date palms growing between two scorched rocky plains, he has signs that are unmistakable, he eats things given to him as gifts but not alms, and between his shoulders there is the Seal of Prophethood. If you can go there, do so.” So now the scholar of ‘Amūriyah is saying that there is no one living today who is following this same path; the ones who believe in the true Message of Jesus, they have all passed away. Therefore, [he was told that] it is time for a new Message to come, because now the world is void of guidance, so now it is time to fill that void. So a Prophet will come, and he is approaching, and his time is near, and he has unmistakable signs, and these are his signs; number one, he will take refuge in a place that grows palm trees and is between two rocky tracks, i.e. volcanic rocks. [Number two], he does not eat Sadaqah – charity, but he accepts gifts. And [number three], there is the Seal of Prophethood, a sign, between his shoulders on his back.

Salmān Al-Fārsī Sold as Slave on his Way to Madīnah: Salmān Al-Fārsī said, “I was trying to find a way to reach the land of the Arabs,” it was far away, “until I met some merchants from the tribe of Kalb. I asked them to carry me with them and I will pay them all of the money that I have; my cows and my sheep are yours, just take me to the land of the Arabs.” Allāhu Akbar, look at the sacrifice of Salmān. He worked very hard to build up this small business and accumulate this wealth, and now he was willing to give it up just to be transported to the land of the Nabï. The story of Salmān Al-Fārsī is an amazing story of someone who is searching for Al-Haqīqah –truth. They [the merchants] agreed, and they carried SalmānAl-Fārsī with them. When they reached to Arabia, to a place called Wādī Al-Qurā, these merchants ended up betraying Salmān Al-Fārsī and they sold him as a slave to a Jewish man. Now, if you get stuck into slavery, that is it, you are stuck in there, and nobody will believe you when you say that you are a free man. So they claimed that he was a slave and they ended up selling him, so now Salmān Al-Fārsī was stuck in bondage. They sold him to this Jewish man; this Jewish man took him to Wādī Al-Qurā. Salmān Al-Fārsī said, “When I saw Wādī Al-Qurā, I thought this might be the place that was described to me,” because Wādī Al-Qurā has some palm trees, so he was fine to stay there. He said, “Then a cousin of my owner, a Jew from Banī Qurayzah, visited my master and he purchased me.” So now Salmān was sold from this man in Wādī Al-Qurā to a Jew in Banū Qurayzah. Where did Banū Qurayzah live? In Madīnah. Salmān Al-Fārsī said, “I was carried from Wādī Al-Qurā to Madīnah, and in the name of Allāh, as soon as I saw Madīnah, I knew this was the place.” This is it, because Madīnah is very rich with palm groves, it has a lot of palm trees, and it is located between two rocky tracks; Al Hārrah Al-Sharqiyyah Wal Hārrah Al-Gharbiyyah.

These are two rocky tracks of volcanic rocks, scorched, very dark. And by the way, this was the natural protection of Madīnah; in the Battle of the Trench, did Rasūlullāhﷺ make a trench all over Madīnah? No, he dug the trench on one side only because on two sides Madīnah was protected by these rocky tracks. These are not mountains, these are very sharp rocks that are filling the plain and these are volcanic rocks, and it is very difficult for an army to move through it, so these are two natural barriers. And then from the south, Madīnah is protected by palm trees; that is where all of the palm groves are. So Madīnah can be attacked from the North; that is the direction where the attack could be made from, and that is where Rasūlullāhﷺ had dug the trench. So Salmān Al-Fārsī knew this was the place. He said, “Rasūlullāh was sent, and he spent years in Makkah and I had no idea about it because I was busy in the toils of slavery.” You know, a slave is busy with work and does not have any idea on what is going on around him and the world, so Salmān Al-Fārsī said, “I had no idea that Rasūlullāhﷺ was already preaching the Message.”

Salmān Al-Fārsī Meets Rasūlullāhﷺ and Tests him on Signs of his Prophethood: Salmān Al- Fārsī said, “One day, I was working on top of a palm tree and my master was sitting under the palm tree. One of his cousins came to him and he was angry, you could see anger on his face, and he said, “May God damn the children of Qaylah!” Children of Qaylah was the name given to Al-Aws Wal- Khazraj, the Jews used to call Al-Aws Wal-Khazraj Banū Qaylah. He said, “May God damn them, they have assembled in Qubā’ in support of a man who came from Makkah who claims to be a prophet.” Salmān Al-Fārsī said, “When I heard that, a chill went down my spine and I started to tremble, and I was almost going to fall down from the palm tree and land on my master.” Ya’nī Subhān’Allāh! Salmān Al-Fārsī had been waiting for this moment for years; he had given up his life, he had left his family, left his homeland and came into foreign lands, different languages, different cultures, different people! In those days it was not easy to travel and go amongst people who were foreign, it is not like today [where] you can have interpreters and translators and access to people who would speak your language, in those days it was very difficult. Salmān Al-Fārsī had to leave Persia, and then he went to Ash- Shām, and then he went to Turkey, and ‘Irāq, and now he was in the land of the Arabs which was a very secluded area. The land of the Arabs was surrounded by deserts, it did not have contact with the outside world; the Persians were away from it, the Romans were away from it, it was a very secluded, very difficult, very harsh.

And then Salmān Al-Fārsī was living alone as a slave! Imagine the feelings of home-sickness that such a person would have. Sold as a slave, living in a foreign land, and now he has heard the news he had been waiting for for years. He said, “I came running down the tree and I went to the man and I was asking him questions.” He said, “My master grabbed me and punched me in my face and told me, ‘It is none of your business, go back to work.’” Salmān Al- Fārsī said, “Later on that evening, I prepared some food and I travelled to Qubā’.” Qubā’ was outside Madīnah, Qubā’ is on the outskirts of Madīnah and that is where Rasūlullāhﷺ first arrived and he built the Masjid of Qubā’. Now it is pretty much in the district of Madīnah, but in those days it was considered to be of an independent village. Salmān Al-Fārsī said, “I took some food with me and I went to visit Rasūlullāhﷺ at night. I came in and I told Muhammadﷺ, ‘I heard that you are a very good man, and that you have Companions who are strangers and needy, so I have brought you this food as charity, and I think that you are the one who deserves it most.’ And I handed it to him.” He said, “Rasūlullāhﷺ received the food from me and then he told his Companions to go ahead and eat, but he did not join in with them.”

Sign number one; heﷺ does not eat charity, he does not eat from alms. He said, “Now test one is done. Later on, I prepared some food and I went to Rasūlullāhﷺ and he was already on his way to Madīnah. I went up to him, I greeted him and then I told him, ‘Last time I presented you with food and I told you that this is charity and you refused to eat from it, so I want to honour you with this gift,’ and I handed the food to Muhammadﷺ. Muhammadﷺ invited the Companions to come in and eat and he joined in with them.” Sign number two. He said, “And then I went to him and visited him when he was in Baqī’ Al -Gharqad –Cemetery of Madīnah; he was following a Janāzah.Iwent upto Mohammedﷺ, I greeted him, and then I went around him to see the sign on his back.” Salmān Al-Fārsī said, “Rasūlullāhﷺ sensed that I was trying to look for something that was described for me, so Rasūlullāhﷺ uncovered his back, he threw off the cloak that was covering his shoulders. And right there in front of my eyes was the Seal of Prophethood.” Sign number three.

Salmān Al-Fārsī said, “When I saw the seal of Prophethood on his back, I fell down and I prostrated myself to Muhammadﷺ , I made Sujūd to him, and I started kissing his feet and I was crying.” That was the moment that Salmān Al-Fārsī had been waiting all of his life for, so he made Sujūd to Muhammadﷺ and he was kissing his feet and weeping, crying. He said, “Rasūlullāhﷺ immediately told me to stand up.” Rasūlullāhﷺ does not accept Sujūd for him, so he told Salmān to stand up. [Salmān continues,] “And then he told me, ‘Tell me your story,’ so I narrated my story to him. Rasūlullāhﷺ told me, ‘I want you to narrate this same story to my Companions, I want you to tell them this story.’” The story of a man who was searching for truth all of his life. Salmān Al -Fārsī said, “And I narrated my story to them just like I am narrating it to you Ibn ‘Abbās.” I was mentioning to them the same thing.

Rasūlullāhﷺ and Sahābah Help Salmān Al-Fārsī Free Himself : Salmān Al-Fārsī said, “Because I was a slave, I ended up missing the Battle of Badr and the Battle of Uhud. And then Rasūlullāhﷺ told me one day, ‘O Salmān, free yourself from slavery – Kātib.’” Mukātabah was a deal that was made by the slave and the master that the slave would work for a certain time and generate a certain income and ransom themselves. So Salmān Al-Fārsī went to his owner and said, “I want to be free,” so his owner told him, “You have to plant for me 300 palm trees and they all have to survive, so at the end I have to have 300 living palm trees, and you pay me 40 ounces of gold.” So he came to Rasūlullāhﷺ and said, “This is the huge amount of money that I have to pay to ransom myself.” Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Do not worry,” and then Rasūlullāhﷺ gathered the Sahābah and told them, “Help your brother.” Salmān Al-Fārsī said, “Some of them would bring 30seedlings of a palm tree, some of them would bring 20, some 15; everyone would bring as much as they can, until I had 300 seedlings.” Rasūlullāhﷺ told him, “When you collect the 300 seedlings, go and dig the holes for them, but do not plant them, come and tell me first.” So Salmān Al-Fārsī gathered the 300 seedlings, he went and he dug the holes for them, and then he went to Rasūlullāhﷺ and said, “It is all ready.” Salmān Al- Fārsī said, “Rasūlullāhﷺ , by himself, would go and carry the seedlings and plant them one by one with his own blessed hands.” Salmān Al -Fārsī said, “None of those 300 palm trees died, they all survived.” Now, the ratio of palm trees that end up growing is usually a small ratio, many of them die at a young age because of their fragility and the heat of the desert and the difficult weather, but Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted to do it himself so that they would survive, so he planted them one by one and they all lived.

So now Salmān Al-Fārsī had to pay 40 ounces of gold, and he had no clue where he was going to get that amount of money from. Later on one day, a small amount of gold was given to Rasūlullāhﷺ, so the Messenger of Allāh said, “Where is your Persian brother? – Ayna Akhākum Al-Fārisī?” So they went and called Salmān Al-Fārsī. Rasūlullāhﷺ told him, “Take this gold and free yourself with it.” Salmān Al-Fārsī said, “O Rasūlullāh, what would this do?” When Salmān saw the amount of gold, it appeared to be very small and [he thought] it would not be sufficient. Rasūlullāhﷺ told him, “Take it, and it will be enough.” Salmān Al-Fārsī said, “I took it and it was weighed and it came out 40 ounces exactly.” He said, “And then I was free and I never missed anything with Rasūlullāhﷺ after that.” And the first battle he participated in was? Al-Khandaq. And we all know his participation in it; he was the one who came up with the idea of the trench. So that is the story of Salmān Al-Fārsī .

2.10.4 Lessons from Story of Salmān Al-Fārsī

A few notes on his story:

Never Give Up Pursuing the Truth: Who was the first man Salmān Al-Fārsī ended up studying with? He was the Bishop in Syria. What did Salmān Al-Fārsī say about him? He said, “So I joined him, but he was an evil man, demanding alms from his people, and whatever they collected he would store away for himself and not give to the poor. Eventually, he had gathered seven jars of gold and silver. I hated him mightily for what I saw him doing.” So here we have someone who is in search of the truth, and he ends up meeting a person who has all the qualifications of turning him away, of making him give up, but the zeal that Salmān Al-Fārsī had was stronger than that. Nowadays we say that sometimes our actions as Muslims is what causes the people to turn away from Islām, well that is true to a certain extent, but if someone is sincere in their search of finding the truth, they should realise and understand that the truth is something and what the people are doing is something else. Salmān Al-Fārsī did not reject Christianity because the man he met was such a corrupt person; he stuck with him and he remained, and then Allāh rewarded him for that later on, he ended up being with the best man that he had ever seen, and in the description of that man what did he say? He said, “Then they brought another man to take his place, and I never saw a man who did not attend the five Prayers who was better than he.” What Salmān Al-Fārsī means by a man who did not attend the five daily Prayers is that this is the best man I have ever seen before meeting the Muslims, before the followers of Muhammadﷺ, because they are the ones who pray five times a day. So he [actually] said, ‘The best person I met, the most righteous and pious person I met, before I met the Sahābah of Rasūlullāhﷺ, was this man.’ Allāh rewarded him for his Sabr – patience, and we learn two things from this:

Allāh Will Grant Guidance to the Ones who Search for it:
Allāh says: And those who are guided – He increases them in guidance and gives them their righteousness. Muhammad: 17

The ones who search forguidance, Allāh will give it to them, but you have to look for it, you have to put in some effort, and when you do, the reward that you get is more than what you put in; if you walk towards Allāh, Allāh will run towards you, if you take one step towards Allāh, Allāh will take many steps towards you, but you have to take that first step, you have to take it. Salmān Al-Fārsī was searching for it and he got it; Allāh ended up guiding him even though he belonged to a land that was hundreds of miles away, but he ended up receiving the truth because of his sincerity.

We Should Not Be Turned Off or Let Down when we See People Doing Wrong: We should not feel turned off or let down when we see someone who is not doing the right thing; that is something that has nothing to do with the Message itself. And Salmān Al-Fārsī realised that and he remained with the man until he died, and then he ended up being with a better person.

There Will Always Remain True Believers: The second note is that there were remnants of true Believers before the time of Rasūlullāhﷺ, but they were dying and they were not leaving anyone behind, and that was why the world was thirsty for the Message of Muhammadﷺ.

The Muslim Community Must Be Supportive of its New Members: The third lesson to learn is that the Muslim community must be supportive of its new members. Rasūlullāhﷺ helped Salmān Al-Fārsī free himself from slavery, and he requested the Sahābah to pitch in and participate. As Muslims living in the West, it would become a duty among us to take care of the needs of the newcomers to the Religion, and many times these needs would be financial, and they need to be helped, and this is part of Da’wah, because Da’wah is not that you throw out words which are free to give – it does not cost you anything – Da’wah is also that you have to be responsible for the people who will join in your ranks. And notice that many of the early Muslims were people who were in need; Bilāl was freed by Abū Bakr. Many of the early Muslims were slaves who were in need of a lot of financial help because they were thrown away by their masters, or you would have for example someone like Mus‘ab Bin ‘Umair who came from a very wealthy family, but his mother refused to give him anything after he became Muslim.

So these members are in need of support in their initial stages, and the risk is that if they do not get help in those critical stages, they could apostatise. And there was a study that was done in America that found that quite a significant number of reverts end up leaving Islām – quite a large number. I do not remember the exact figure, but a lot of them end up leaving Islām because of the difficulties that they face. First of all, many of them are stripped from their social life; their families neglect them, their friends leave them, so they are in need of a social belonging, they have to have a new association. Number two, many of them come with some dire financial needs, and if they do not get them, you know, a human being is a human being, if the belly is going empty [then you will forget everything], like I mentioned in the Hadīth [where] Rasūlullāhﷺ said [to] do the good deeds before seven things could happen, and one of them is poverty that will make you forget. If your stomach is empty, you will forget everything. A person who is going around hungry cannot think about spirituality and learning ‘Ilm – knowledge; a person in that stage would want to feed their stomach. So these are things that are part of our programme of Da’wah; we have to have institutions that would satisfy and fulfil the needs of the new Muslim, and that is part of our duty as Muslims living in Non-Muslim societies where there are people who are embracing Islām.

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2. Early Life of Muhammadﷺ