20. The Battle of Tabuk

20. The Battle of Tabūk

Allāh Bans Al-Mushrikīn from Entering Al-Masjid Al-Harām: Allāh says: O you who have believed, indeed the Polytheists are unclean, so let them not approach Al-Masjid Al-Harām after this, their [final] year. And if you fear privation, Allāh will enrich you from His bounty if He wills. Indeed, Allāh is Knowing and Wise. At-Tawbah: 28

The people of Quraish, for centuries, their livelihood was based on doing business; they had an influx of people coming in for Hajj and ‘Umrah throughout the year so that was the foundation of their business. So what they used to do is buy and trade with the people who are coming in to Makkah throughout the year; that is all what they knew how to do, they were not into anything else. Rasūlullāhﷺ announced to the Mushrikīn that after this year, and this was in the ninth year of Hijrah, no Mushrik is allowed into Al-Masjid Al-Harām, no Mushrik is allowed into Al-Masjid Al-Harām into Makkah. To the people of Quraish this was a catastrophe, a disaster; we are dead, because not all of the Arabs have become Muslim yet, ya’nī Najd and all of those areas are not yet Muslim; you have Al-Hijāz which is already Muslim but the other parts of Arabia have not accepted Islām yet, so the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula have not become Muslim, and these are the ones who are going to come in and do Hajj and do ‘Umrah and these are the ones whom we depend on for our livelihood, and now Rasūlullāhﷺ is saying that they are banned from entering the country? This is not good for the economy. And by the way, not only today are people thinking about the economy, even then economy, financial resources, was a major concern of the people, and a lot of the decisions that the politicians make are based on the economical reasons, so the people of Quraish were thinking in economical terms and saying that this is not a wise decision, how are we going to live? And this is the Āyah that we just recited, Allāh saying: O you who have believed, indeed the Polytheists are unclean. That is the reason; that is the reasoning behind the banning of Al -Mushrikīn from entering into Al-Haram. The Āyah is saying that the reason why they are not allowed in is because of their Najāsah. And then Allāh says: So let them not approach Al-Masjid Al-Harām after this, their [final] year. Khalās, this is the last year, and this announcement was made in the ninth year of Hijrah.

Allāh Assures Muslims He Will Provide for Them: And as a response to the complaints of the people of Quraish – there are the Muslim – Allāh says: And if you fear privation, Allāh will enrich you from His bounty if He wills. Indeed, Allāh is Knowing and Wise. And this is Tawakkul in Allāh. If something is Harām we stop from it, if something is Halāl we encourage people to do it; that is how we base our decisions, it is not on what will make us money and what will not. So Islām came to change the way people think, because people usually think in financial terms, and decisions are made, laws are made, in that sense. Allāh is telling them [that] if you have trust in Allāh, Allāh will provide for you. And it was a difficult thing for Quraish because they did not have any other skill or art to do and make money; the land in Makkah is not suitable for planting anything, it is a very infertile dry land [with] rocky tracks and no rain, so when business was their only job that they knew how to do and they were told not to do it, they were kind of concerned, they were worried; Allāh told them Allāh will provide for you – Khalās, Allāh will provide for you; let us have Īmān in Allāh, let us do what Allāh told us.

And by the way brothers and sisters, this has many implications on us today because there are a lot of Muslims who deal with Ribā, who sell Harām things, and the reason is, ‘This is the only way we can make money’. So they open a grocery store and they sell things that are Harām, you tell them this is Harām, they say, ‘How are we going to live?’ And then you find people buying houses using mortgages which is a clear Ribā without any doubts, and then they say, ‘How are we going to survive? We are going to lose all of our money if we keep on paying rent.’ The response to these people is: Wamay Yattaqillāha Yaj‘allahū Makhrajā. Wa Yarzuqhu Min Haythu Lā Yahtasib –And whoever fears Allāh – He will make for him a way out.And will provide for him from where he does not expect. At-Talāq: 2-3

It is a promise from Allāh; if you have Taqwā and you believe in Allāh then this is what will happen, Allāh will provide for you. Put your trust in Allāh and Allāh will provide for you. So how did Allāh provide for the people of Makkah? In the next Āyah, verse 29, Allāh says: Fight those who do not believe in Allāh or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allāh and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture – [fight] until they give the Jizyah willingly while they are humbled. At-Tawbah: 29

This is how Ibn Kathīr starts the chapter on the events of the ninth year of Hijrah and this is how he opens his section on the Battle of Tabūk, it is by giving a brief Tafsīr of these two Āyāt.

20.1 Allāh Orders Muslims to Fight Romans

The order from Allāh in verse 123 in Sūrah At-Tawbah, Allāh says: O you who have believed, fight those adjacent to you of the Disbelievers and let them find in you harshness. And know that Allāh is with the righteous. At-Tawbah: 123

Allāh says: Fight those adjacent to you. Who are the ones adjacent to the Muslims now in the ninth year of Hijrah? It is the Romans, because the Roman Empire reaches to the boundary of Hijāz. So the first people who are included in this Āyah are the Romans because when this Āyah was revealed all of the Arabs of Hijāz were Muslim. And Rasūlullāh started the greatest mobilisation ever in the history of Islām so far. Usually when Rasūlullāhﷺ would lead an army or send out an army, he would usually maintain secrecy of the target in order to ambush the enemy and take them by surprise, however in this incident Rasūlullāhﷺ made it public from day one. Why? Because first of all they are facing a new enemy, they are facing the Roman Empire, and this is a different situation here; here now we are not facing a tribe and we are not facing people from our own kind whom we already know; this is something that is unknown, it is a foreign nation, plus the Roman Empire has such a great reputation all over the world for its strength and power and this reputation is centuries old, therefore Rasūlullāhﷺ made it clear from the beginning that we are going to fight Ar-Rūm. The second reason is because of the distance; there is going to be a lot of travelling involved and therefore Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted them to prepare accordingly. This is not a short distance travel and therefore a lot of preparation is needed. And the third reason; it was the worst time of the year to travel, it was mid-summer – very hot, and it was the time when the dates were ripening on the palm trees and that is a very tempting time to stay behind, because the life of the people of Madīnah was based on agriculture and their agriculture was pretty much mostly palm dates; that was the main agriculture of the people of Al-Ansār. So we wait all year long for the harvest and now we are supposed to travel right at that time when the fruit is ripening on the tree and it is very tempting, so it was a very difficult time to set out.

But the Battle of Tabūk is going to be the last major trial that the Muslims are going to go through before the death of Rasūlullāhﷺ, and you will notice that the Battle of Tabūk represents the peak of Islām and represents the most difficult test so far, and it was the Battle of Tabūk that brought down the Āyāt that are talking about Nifāq and Īmān, so this was going to be the criteria between the true Believers and the Munāfiqīn. This is a closing chapter in the Jihād of Rasūlullāhﷺ, so now the final laws of fighting are going to come, these are the Āyāt that will abrogate the Āyāt before, and the Āyāt that will expose the Munāfiqīn are going to come down in Tabūk even though the phenomena of Nifāq is a few years old by now because Nifāq appeared in Madīnah right after the Battle of Badr, so we are talking about a span of seven years of the existence of Nifāq, nevertheless, the Sūrah that talked the most about Nifāq is the Sūrah of At-Tawbah, and Sūrah At-Tawbah was revealed in the ninth year of Hijrah which was the year in which the Battle of Tabūk occurred, and most of the Āyāt of Sūrah At-Tawbah are relating to the Battle of Tabūk. So these are prime moments, very important moments, and we are getting close to the end of the Da’wah of Rasūlullāhﷺ, so what we are talking about now brothers and sisters are the final stages, what we are talking about now are the final chapters and they are the final and most important ones. Even though in the Battle of Tabūk there was no fighting, but it was an epic event; it has such an importance in Sharī‘ah and in Seerah and in ‘Aqīdah, in every aspect of Islāmic knowledge, and that is why we will be going through a lot of Āyāt because there are so many Āyāt that were revealed in Sūrah At-Tawbah about the Battle of Tabūk.

So Allāh said: O you who have believed, fight those adjacent to you of the Disbelievers and let them find in you harshness. And know that Allāh is with the righteous. At-Tawbah: 123

 Soagain, the Battle of Tabūk represents a trial from Allāh because again, as I mentioned, there was no fighting involved, but it was a test – it was a test – and it represented the most difficult battle so far. And that is the reason why this battle was given the name Jaish Al-‘Usrah – The Army of Difficulty; ‘Usrah means difficult, severe, tough – because the financing of the army was difficult, the gathering of the army was difficult, the travel of the army was difficult, the weather was difficult, and the enemy that they were facing was difficult, and that is why it is called the Army of Difficulty – Jaish Al-‘Usrah, and Allāh has called it in Qur’ān Sā‘atal ‘Usrah – the Hour of Difficulty, and we will get to that Āyah Inshā’Allāh.

We Adhere Heavily to Earth: The mobilisation; Rasūlullāhﷺ called the people who were in Madīnah and the surrounding tribes, and Makkah – [Muslims from] all over, all of the Muslims; there was never such a mobilisation before. And Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted to recruit every able-bodied Muslim, and the Āyāt of Qur’ān came to support this and to lay down the final laws regarding fighting Fee Sabeelillāh, Allāh says: O you who have believed, what is [the matter] with you that, when you are told to go forth in the cause of Allāh, you adhere heavily to the earth? Are you satisfied with the life of this world rather than the Hereafter? But what is the enjoyment of worldly life compared to the Hereafter except a [very] little. At-Tawbah: 38

 The call was difficult, and therefore people were finding it hard convincing themselves to come out. So Allāh  in this Āyah – and you see brothers and sisters, Qur’ān speaks to the heart, and it exposes the heart and tells you the illness that is in the heart whether you know it or not, and that is something unique about Qur’ān; because it is from Allāh, it is the Word of Allāh, it is from the One who created you and knows what is good for you and what is bad and knows what is happening in your heart of hearts, what is happening inside, and these are things that you might not even recognise yourself within yourself – so Allāh is telling the people the reason why they do not want to go out, because you see, people might give many reasons; they might say because the Fiqh does not state that we need to go out, some might say because there is a difference of opinion, some might say because it does not make sense, some might say because it is not wise, but Allāh tells them why: O you who have believed, what is [the matter] with you that, when you are told to go forth in the cause of Allāh, you adhere heavily to the earth? That is the reason; it is love of Dunyā, it is adherence to the earth.

Are you satisfied with the life of this world rather than the Hereafter? But what is the enjoyment of worldly life compared to the Hereafter except a [very] little. Sothis Āyah mentions the cause and it mentions the cure, it mentions the disease and the cure. The disease is attachment to Dunyā; Iththāqaltum Ilal Ard – you are adhering to earth, you love your life and you do not want to leave it behind. And the cure is? Allāh is reminding us with the reality of this world that it is nothing compared to the Hereafter. This Āyah is in At-Tawbah, and from day one the first Āyāt which were in Sūrah Al-Baqarah where the command to fight was given, Allāh says: Kutiba ‘Alaikumul Qitālu Wahuwa Kurhullakum – Fighting has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful to you. Al-Baqarah: 216

Allāh told us this is something that we dislike. We even not only dislike to do [it], we dislike to talk about it, and look at it right now, how many people are talking about this? Even though it is one of the Farā’id in Islām, even though there are so many Āyāt and so many Ahādīth talking about this, but people do not want to speak about it let alone do it. So Allāh is telling us what the disease is and giving us the cure.

20.1.1 Consequences of Not Going Forth

And then Allāh is telling us what will happen if we do not fight in His sake, Allāh says: If you do not go forth, He will punish you with a painful punishment. At-Tawbah: 39

And our condition today is a testimony to this; look at how we are being punished because we are staying behind; we are poor even though we are the wealthiest, our land and what is beneath our land is wealthy nevertheless we are poor, we are disunited even though we should be the most united Ummah, we are weak when we should be the highest and strongest Ummah – all of this is punishment from Allāh because we did not give support to His Dīn. If you do not go forth, He will punish you with a painful punishment and will replace you with another people, and you will not harm Him at all. And Allāh is over all things competent. At-Tawbah: 39

Sothis is the punishment of Allāh and Allāh is warning the Muslims because as I said, many of them do not like talking about this let alone doing it, in fact not only talking about it, they do not even want to hear about it.

Allāh has Already Aided the Prophetﷺ: And then Allāh says: If you do not aid the Prophet – Allāh has already aided him. At-Tawbah: 40

If we do not defend Rasūlullāhﷺ,if we do not defend the honour of Rasūlullāhﷺ, if we do not protect him, Rasūlullāhﷺ does not need us, Allāh will protect him; it is something that we need to do for our own sake, for our own benefit, but Allāh will support His Messenger, Allāh says: Allāh has already aided him when those who disbelieved had driven him out [of Makkah] as one of two (he and Abū Bakr in Hijrah), when they were in the cave and he said to his Companion, “Do not grieve; indeed Allāh is with us.” Rasūlullāhﷺ was speaking to Abū Bakr. And Allāh sent down His tranquillity upon him and supported him with angels you did not see and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest, while the word of Allāh – that is the highest. And Allāh is Exalted in Might and Wise. At-Tawbah: 40

20.1.2 Go Forth whether Light or Heavy

And then Allāh is telling the Sahābah, and telling us, and telling every Muslim: Go forth, whether light or heavy, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the cause of Allāh. That is better for you, if you only knew. At-Tawbah: 41

Infirū Khifāfaw Wa Thiqālā – Go forth, whether light or heavy. What does light or heavy mean? Al- Qurtubī mentions the opinions of the scholars of Tafsīr, they said, “Young and old, busy or not busy, wealthy or poor; everyone needs to go out.” When this Āyah was revealed, the Sahābah viewed this as such a burden, they said [that] then no one has an excuse, everyone has to go out. And that was when Allāh revealed the Āyah:

There is not upon the weak or upon the ill or upon those who do not find anything to spend any discomfort when they are sincere to Allāh and His Messenger. There is not upon the doers of good any cause [for blame]. And Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful. At-Tawbah: 91

SoAllāh excused the weak and the ill and the ones who do not find anything to spend, otherwise everyone else needs to go out. Abū Qatādah, the knight of Rasūlullāhﷺ, he was seen on his horse, and he was such an old man that his eyebrows were covering his eyes and by then he had gained a lot of weight. So he was told, “You are amongst the ones who are excused, why are you going out?” He said, “The Sūrah of At-Tawbah has left us no excuse.” That was the understanding of the Sahābah, and Allāh is saying: Go forth, whether light or heavy.

20.1.3 Strive with your Wealth and your Lives

And then Allāh says: And strive with your wealth and your lives. Notice here that the wealth was mentioned before the lives and that is how it is in every Āyah except in one Āyah in Qur’ān, and that is because fighting consumes money, it just burns it away; that was the case then and that is the case now; any war effort just swallows up money, and that is why Allāh in the Āyāt of Qur’ān and Rasūlullāhﷺ in the Ahādīth emphasised on the importance of spending Fee Sabeelillāh. In fact Al-Qurtubī says that every other Sadaqah is multiplied by 10 because Rasūlullāhﷺ says that Al-Hasanah Bi ‘Ashari Amthālihā –one good deed is multiplied by 10,except when you spend in the path of Allāh [in which case] it is equivalent to 700 because of the Āyah in Sūrah Al-Baqarah that talks about the grain that multiplies into 700 and that is when it is spent in Fee Sabeelillāh, and Ibn Hajar says that whenever Fee Sabeelillāh is mentioned, it usually means in the context of Jihād Fee Sabeelillāh, and therefore Al-Qurtubī says that every other spending, whether it is for the poor or the needy or building a Masjid or whatever, one dollar or whatever currency it is, is multiplied by 10, while when it is for the fighting Fee Sabeelillāh, 1 equals 700, and that is to emphasise on the importance of spending because it is such an expensive thing, it just incinerates money.

20.1.4 Nothing ‘Uthmān Does after this Day Will Harm him

So Rasūlullāhﷺ started fundraising, collecting the donations; he would stand up and ask the people to give, and it was a difficult time in terms of the financial resources of the people; they did not have much, especially because it is before the harvest and that is where their money is, but they were still bringing; Abū Bakr brought his money and ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb. And then Rasūlullāhﷺ was asking for more, so ‘Uthmān Ibn ‘Affān brought a hundred camels ready with their saddles and all, the whole thing. And then Rasūlullāhﷺ asked for more; ‘Uthmān Ibn ‘Affān brought a hundred. And then Rasūlullāhﷺ asked for more so he brought a hundred. And then Rasūlullāhﷺ asked for more, so ‘Uthmān Ibn ‘Affān brought some gold coins and he poured it in the lap of Rasūlullāhﷺ. So the coins were in his lap and his fingers were in the coins and Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Mā Darra ‘Uthmān Mā Fa‘ala Ba’dal Yawm –Nothing ‘Uthmān does after this day will harm him.” Whatever he does, that is it, he is forgiven because of what he has done on this day, and this shows you the virtue of spending Fee Sabeelillāh.

20.2 Al-Munāfiqīn

Then there were those who were looking for excuses to get out of their duties, and let us read the Āyāt that talk about them, Allāh says: And when a Sūrah was revealed [enjoining them] to believe in Allāh and to fight with His Messenger, those of wealth among them asked your permission [to stay back] and said, “Leave us to be with them who sit [at home].” At-Tawbah: 86

And who are these who are asking to be excused? They are the ones with wealth. So the exact ones who should be going out are the exact ones who are asking for an excuse to stay. And this shows us the Fitnah of money; money in itself is not evil, but if it causes a person to forsake their duties towards Allāh and His religion then it becomes an evil instrument, and here in this Āyah we find that these people came to Rasūlullāhﷺ and said, “We do not want to go, excuse us.” Allāh says:

Radū Bi’ayyakūnū Ma‘al Khawālifi Wa Tubi‘a ‘Alā Qulūbihim Fahum Lā Yafqahūn – They were satisfied to be with those who stay behind (women and children), and their hearts were sealed over, so they do not understand. At-Tawbah: 87

Pay attention to this; these people have heard Qur’ān, and these are people who sat in the Khutbah and the lectures of Rasūlullāhﷺ, so most likely they knew more than me and you, and Allāh says about them Lā Yafqahūn – they have no understanding. People who heard Qur’ān fresh from the heavens, and heard the Hadīth not from a book but from the mouth of Rasūlullāhﷺ, and lived in the context; you see, they lived in the context of when the verses were revealed and when the Ahādīth were said, so no matter how much we read, we will not reach to that understanding because we were not there, and still Allāh says that they do not understand. By today’s standards they would be great scholars, but they do not understand; why? Because they do not get the point. They do not understand the reality of Dunyā and Ākhirah, they do not understand the wisdom behind Jihād Fee Sabeelillāh, they do not understand the importance of sacrifice, they just do not get it. And many are the Muslims today who do not get it, who do not understand the proper Islāmic view of the world and they do not understand the issue of the importance of supporting the Dīn of Allāh. So understanding, brothers and sisters, is not how many Āyāt and how many Ahādīth you memorise and you know, understanding is the Fiqh of the heart, the understanding of the heart, because anybody can memorise Qur’ān and Hadīth, even a Non-Muslim could do that, there are Islāmic Studies departments in many universities, in the West and other parts of the world, and many of the students who get the top grades over there are Non-Muslim, so they know Ahādīth and they know Āyāt, so is that a criteria of true knowledge? No. True knowledge is not how much Āyāt and Ahādīth you have learned, but how much do you understand them and follow them, because if you are just memorising Āyāt and Ahādīth you are just adding up evidence against you on the Day of Judgement, because every Āyah that you know will be an evidence against you on the Day of Judgement; you are actually making it worse for yourself, and every Hadīth that you learn will be evidence against you because you knew it and you did not follow it and you did nothing, so actually you are worse than someone who did not know it because the one who did not know it can say on the Day of Judgement, ‘O Allāh, I never knew about this, no one told me about it,’ but the one who knows it has no excuse at all, and these people knew the truth and they did not follow it. So the Fiqh – and this is very important – [is]; do not be deceived by sweet tongue and do not be deceived by people who have just memorised everything and they just spit it out to you, but you should take the example by the ones who are following the Haqq, not the ones who are just saying it; the ones who are saying it, if you are saying the Haqq, then [you should] follow it yourselves.

20.2.1 Reward for those who Fought with their Wealth and their Lives

And then Allāh says about the ones who understand: But the Messenger and those who believed with him fought with their wealth and their lives. Those will have [all that is] good, and it is those who are the successful. Allāh has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide eternally. That is the great attainment. At-Tawbah: 88-89

20.2.2 Painful Punishment Awaits Al-Munāfiqīn

And then Allāh says: And those with excuses among the Bedouins came to be permitted [to remain]… These are some Bedouins who had valid excuses, they came to Rasūlullāhﷺ. According to some Mufassirīn they say they had valid excuses and some of them say that they did not, but there is a difference of opinion on the exact meaning of this part of the Āyah, but then Allāh says: …and they who had lied to Allāh and His Messenger sat [at home]. There will strike those who disbelieved among them a painful punishment. At-Tawbah: 90

20.2.3 There is No Blame on the Weak, Ill and Poor

Now, we [already] recited this [following] Āyah [about] the ones who are excused from going out: There is not upon the weak or upon the ill or upon those who do not find anything to spend any discomfort when they are sincere to Allāh and His Messenger. There is not upon the doers of good any cause [for blame]. And Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful. At-Tawbah: 91

The next Āyah talks about some of the Sahābah who came to Rasūlullāhﷺ and they said, “O Rasūlullāh, carry us.” Meaning provide us with transportation; we have nothing, because part of the preparation is that you need to have your camel or your horse to travel; this is a long distance, you cannot just go without any preparation. So these were very poor Sahābah but they sincerely wanted to go, so they came to Rasūlullāhﷺ and they said, “O Rasūlullāh, provide for us.” Help us, we want want to join. Rasūlullāh said, “Lā Ajidu Mā Ahmilukum ‘Alaÿ – I cannot provide you with anything.” I do not have anything. They were so sad that they were deprived from the honour of joining this army that they left with tears flowing on their cheeks. So you can see the contrast here between some people who have wealth and have the ability and they are happy to stay behind – Farihal Mukhallafūn;Allāh says they were happy to stay behind –and on the other hand you have these poor Sahābah who eagerly want to go and when they were prevented they cried, so there is a difference in the hearts here between these and those. So Allāh says: Nor [is there blame] upon those who, when they came to you that you might give them mounts, you said, “I can find nothing for you to ride upon.” They turned back while their eyes overflowed with tears out of grief that they could not find something to spend [for the cause of Allāh]. The cause [for blame] is only upon those who ask permission of you while they are rich. They are satisfied to be with those who stay behind, and Allāh has sealed over their hearts, so they do not know. At-Tawbah: 92-93

So Allāh said in the previous Āyah: Lā Yafqahūn –They have no Fiqh, and in this Āyah: Lā Ya’lamūn –They have no knowledge. So they have no understanding and they have no knowledge; they do not have either.

20.2.4 The Hypocrites Should Not Have Been Excused

Allāh says about the Munāfiqīn: Had it been an easy gain and a moderate trip… meaning if there was a lot of Ghanīmah and if the distance was not far away …the Hypocrites would have followed you, but distant to them was the journey. And they will swear by Allāh, “If we were able, we would have gone forth with you,” destroying themselves [through false oaths], and Allāh knows that indeed they are liars. At-Tawbah: 42

[And] Allāh is telling Muhammadﷺ that you should not have excused them, Allāh says: May Allāh pardon you, [O Muhammad]; why did you give them permission [to remain behind]? [You should not have] until it was evident to you who were truthful and you knew [who were] the liars. At-Tawbah: 43

Soit was a test from Allāh, and Allāh is telling Muhammadﷺ that you should not have given them an excuse.

20.3 True Believers Do Not Look for Excuses

And then Allāh tells us who are the true Believers and who are not, Allāh says: Those who believe in Allāh and the Last Day would not ask permission of you to be excused from striving with their wealth and their lives. And Allāh is Knowing of those who fear Him. At-Tawbah: 44

Sothe ones who have Taqwā and the ones who believe in Allāh, they are not going to try and find excuses, but you would find them eager to support the Religion of Allāh and fight for it. But then the ones who are looking for excuses, Allāh says about them: Only those would ask permission of you who do not believe in Allāh and the Last Day and whose hearts have doubted, and they, in their doubt, are hesitating. At-Tawbah: 45

And this is a fact; those who misinterpret the concept of fighting Fee Sabeelillāh and those who have weak Īmān and try to get out of it, they are always in a state of hesitation, they are always in a state of unclarity, they are in a state of contradiction, because they say on one hand that we want to support the Religion of Allāh, but then they refuse to do it and they try to find excuses to get out of it, so it is a contradicting state and it is a very changing heart, and Allāh says about them [that] they do not have the true belief in Allāh and the Last Day. Someone who has Yaqīn in Ākhirah and someone who has true Īmān in Allāh, first of all, because of the Īmān in Allāh he will fear Allāh more than he fears anybody or anything else, and because of the Īmān in the Last Day, he will not have any value of this Dunyā.

If they Were Sincere they Would Have Made Preparations: And then Allāh says about them – and this is a criteria for those who are really excused and those who are not – Allāh says: And if they had intended to go forth, they would have prepared for it [some] preparation. At-Tawbah: 46

Brothers and sisters, anything important needs preparation. If you want to be a physician you need to prepare for it, you need to go to school; if you want to be an engineer you have to go through years of education, and same thing in Islām. Just like in Dunyā, any job or any profession needs a preparation, otherwise you are lying. If somebody says I want to be a doctor but then he does not go to college, and somebody says I want to find employment but he never goes and searches for it, [he] is dishonest with himself. Same thing in Islām; if you say for example you want to make Hijrah Fee Sabeelillāh and you do not prepare for it, you are being dishonest with yourself, and if you say that you want to strive in the path of Allāh but you are not doing any preparation for it then that is also not an excuse, because those who sincerely want to strive in the cause of Allāh are going to prepare, and the term preparation is broad, it would include anything that is needed for such an ‘Ibādah.

Al-Munāfiqīn Would Only Increase the Believers in Confusion: And then Allāh is telling Muhammadﷺ that it is better that these people did not come out; why? Because this is what they will do: Had they gone forth with you, they would not have increased you except in confusion… They would not increase you in anything good, they would add to your confusion because their minds are full of doubts. They do not have a firm Yaqīn and Īmān in what they are doing, they are confused. They have so many doubts in their hearts; they have doubts from the news, they have doubts from the Munāfiqīn, they have doubts from the Kuffār – their minds are full of doubts, and if they come out with you they will just add confusion. And then Allāh says: …and they would have been active among you… active with what? …seeking [to cause] you fitnah… They are going to come out for the cause of Fitnah, they are going to come out with Namīmah, backbiting, they are going to try to cause disunity among you, they will spread their doubts among your ranks, and Allāh says: …And among you are avid listeners to them. And Allāh is Knowing of the wrongdoers. At-Tawbah: 47

Who is Allāh speaking to? He is speaking to the generation of the Sahābah. Allāh is telling them: And among you are avid listeners to them. Subhān’Allāh, how could a Companion be an avid listener of a Munāfiq? Well that is the whole point behind the importance of warning against the Munāfiqīn because they are so elusive; it is very difficult to tell who a Munāfiq is because they could be very sweet-tongue, they could be very knowledgeable, they could be very prominent, they could be very charismatic, they could have such a captivating personality, and you look up to them and you listen to their words and their words make sense to you and that is why you become an avid listener to them, and in reality they are deceiving you. And Allāh is giving this warning to the Sahābah so what do you think about us today, how much confusion are these Munāfiqīn causing us today? When we are very far away from the understanding of the Sahābah, when our Fitrah is corrupted? Because the Sahābah had a clear Fitrah; for them, because of their clean Fitrah, they would have a better ability in distinguishing what is right from wrong, however with us, living in such a corrupt material world where the values and the norms that we are brought up with are so messed up, the confusion is even worse, and that is why you find that a wide section of the Ummah is really confused; they do not know what they are supposed to do, they do not know what their duties are, they are in a state of loss.

Brothers and sisters, it is very important to study the Āyāt of Sūrah At-Tawbah and study the Āyāt of Munāfiqīn in Āyāt At-Tawbah so that we could be cautious from two things; number one, that we are not Munāfiqīn ourselves, and number two, that we are not fooled by the ones who are Munāfiqīn. Nifāq is such a delicate thing and a very elusive thing that even ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb used to fear that he might be a Munāfiq, Subhān’Allāh, ‘Umar! And he would go to Hudhaifah, the one who had the secret of Rasūlullāhﷺ and knew the names of the Munāfiqīn, he went to him and said, “I ask you in the name of Allāh, did Rasūlullāh mention me among the Munāfiqīn?” Hudhaifah told him, “No, and I am not going to answer this question to anyone other than you.” Because it is a secret and Hudhaifah did not want to give it up. So Allāh  is telling the Muslims that it is better that they did not come out because if they came out, they are not really into fighting Fee Sabeelillāh, they do not understand fighting Fee Sabeelillāh, and therefore they are going to come out and just cause confusion among you.

They had already desired dissension before and had upset matters for you until the truth came and the ordinance of Allāh appeared, while they were averse. At-Tawbah: 48

‘Abdullāh Ibn Ubaÿ, such a despised individual, we all hate him because we know that he is a Munāfiq, but let us put things in the right context; ‘Abdullāh Ibn Ubaÿ was the leader of his people, he was Sayyidil Khazraj, he was the lord of Al-Khazraj, their chief, and ‘Abdullāh Ibn Ubaÿ used to stand before Rasūlullāhﷺ [who] would give Khutbatul Jumu‘ah and tell the people, “Muhammadﷺ is the Messenger of Allāh so listen to his words.” He is standing in front of the people before the Khutbah introducing the Khutbah of Rasūlullāhﷺ telling the people to listen to him. And when ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb told Rasūlullāhﷺ that we should kill him, Rasūlullāhﷺ mentions in one narration, “Satarghab Lahū Unuf – There are many men who might fight for him.” So Subhān’Allāh! ‘Abdullāh Ibn Ubaÿ had a great following, and some of the people who are deceived by him might not handle it well, and that is why Rasūlullāhﷺ refused to execute him. So these are prominent members in the society and they have caused such dissension among the Muslims and problems in the past as Allāh says in the Āyah I just recited.

20.3.1 Staying Behind Means Staying in Fitnah

Rasūlullāhﷺ told Al-Jadd Bin Qais, and he is one of the leaders of Al-Munāfiqīn, he told him, “Are you ready for fighting the Romans?” Al-Jadd Bin Qais said, “O Messenger of Allāh, my people know I have a reputation of being a man who loves women so much, and I fear for myself if I go with you that I might fall into Fitnah because of the women of Banū Al-Asfar,” Banū Asfar is the name that is given to the Romans; Asfar is yellow, so the children of Asfar are the people that are yellow, that was the colour that was given to them as their description. So Al-Jadd Bin Qais is saying [that] if I go with you, the women over there are going to cause me Fitnah. So the reason why he wanted to stay behind was to stay away from Fitnah, which you can see he gave himself an excuse [that] as if it is for the sake of Allāh; you know, I do not want to go out and fight because it is going to cause me Fitnah, I might fall into Harām. So Allāh says: And among them is he who says, “Permit me [to remain at home] and do not put me to trial.”… Trial here is translation of Fitnah …Unquestionably, into trial they have fallen. And indeed, Hell will encompass the Disbelievers. At-Tawbah: 49

Allāh is telling us that by staying behind you are staying in Fitnah. If you go you will be spared Fitnah, if you stay behind then you are in Fitnah. So the ones who always talk about the excuse that I am not prepared spiritually, I have not prepared this or that, they will never be prepared spiritually if they stay behind because they are always going to be in a state of Fitnah. It is when they go out Fee Sabeelillāh that they will be free of the Fitnah, and that is why Allāh says: Walladhīna Jāhadū Fīnā Lanahdiyannahum Subulanā – And those who strive for Us – We willsurely guide them to Our ways. Al-‘Ankabūt: 69

Soguidance comes with going out.

20.3.2 Al-Munāfiqīn Rejoice when Disaster Befalls Muslims

Allāh says about the Munāfiqīn: If good befalls you, it distresses them; but if disaster strikes you, they say, “We took our matter [in hand] before,” and turn away while they are rejoicing. At-Tawbah: 50

This is another habit of the Munāfiqīn; they are happy when disaster befalls the Muslims, and when that happens and they stayed behind, they would say, “See? We told you! Why did you go out?” And they think that they are wise because they avoided trouble, and it is actually the opposite, they are falling into trouble.

20.4 Al-Mu’minīn Await either Victory or Martyrdom

And then Allāh says: Say, “Do you await for us except one of the two best things… what are the two best things? Either victory or martyrdom. …while we await for you that Allāh will afflict you with punishment from Himself or at our hands? So wait; indeed we, along with you, are waiting.” At-Tawbah: 52

Sowait; indeed we, along with you, are waiting. Sothe Muslim should tell the Munāfiqīn that whatever happens to us, even if we are defeated, even if we lose and you think that you are wise and smart that you stayed behind, you need to understand that our objective is one of two things; either victory or martyrdom – and these are the best things to wait for

– while we are waiting for also two things to happen to you; either a punishment from Allāh or a punishment from us.

So these are some Āyāt that are talking about the ones who stayed behind in the Battle of Tabūk.

20.4.1 Rasūlullāhﷺ Appoints ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib to Take Care of his Family

When Rasūlullāhﷺ would leave to go Fee Sabeelillāh, he would appoint someone behind to take care of the affairs of Madīnah and to take care of the affairs of his family, so on this journey, the Battle of Tabūk, Rasūlullāhﷺ appointed Muhammad Ibn Maslamah to be the Amīr over Madīnah and he appointed ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib to take care of his family. Some of the Munāfiqīn, as usual, started spreading rumours around [the fact that] how come Rasūlullāhﷺ left ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib behind. They were saying Iztadhqalah –the literal meaning is [that] he is heavy, meaning he is a burden, and that is why Rasūlullāhﷺ left him behind. So ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib went to Rasūlullāhﷺ and told him [that] this was what people were saying. ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib wanted to go out obviously, [so as] not to miss out on such a Ghazwah, so Rasūlullāhﷺ told ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib, “Yā ‘Alï, Amā Tardā An Takūna Minnī Bimanzilati Hārūna Mim Mūsā Illā Annahū Lā Nabiyya Ba’dī? – O ‘Alï,does it not please you to be to me what Hārūn was to Mūsā, except that there is no Prophet after me?” When Mūsā went to speak to Allāh, he left behind Hārūn and he appointed him to take care of the affairs of Banī Isrā’īl, so Rasūlullāhﷺ is telling ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib that I am doing the same to you; you are to me what Hārūn was to Mūsā expect that there is no Prophet after me because Hārūn was a Prophet. So this is one of the great virtues of ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib that we the People of Sunnah believe in, obviously the Shī‘ah carry this too far and base on it what cannot be based on this Hadīth, but we as Ahlus Sunnah believe that Rasūlullāhﷺ did leave ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib behind, and this is an authentic narration, and that ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib held a special status with Rasūlullāhﷺ. And the army left.

20.4.2 Al-Munāfiqīn Mock Islām and Receive Severe Warning

Some of the Munāfiqīn were speaking among themselves and they said, “Do you think that fighting the Romans is like Arabs fighting each other? You are going to come back tied in ropes.” Speaking such words in an army that is going out to meet an enemy is not good, this is demoralising; it is not good to talk in such a way and put fear in the hearts of soldiers and terrify them about their enemy. And even though this conversation was private, but Allāh exposed them to Muhammadﷺ. Rasūlullāhﷺ told ‘Ammār Ibn Yāsir, “Go to those men and ask them what they have said because they have burned themselves – Ihtaraqū. Adrik’hum – Catch them because they have burned and ask them what they have said. If they do not admit it, tell them you have said such and such.” So ‘Ammār Ibn Yāsir went and told them that this is what you have said; they came back to Rasūlullāhﷺ apologising. Allāh revealed the Āyah: Wala’in Sa’altahum Layaqūlunna Innamā Kunnā Nakhūdu Wa Nal‘ab. When they came to Rasūlullāhﷺ they said, “O Rasūlullāh we were just joking!” So Allāh says: And if you ask them, they will surely say, “We were only conversing and playing.” Say, “Is it Allāh and His verses and His Messenger that you were mocking?” Make no excuse; you have disbelieved after your Belief. If We pardon one faction of you – We will punish another faction because they were criminals. At-Tawbah: 65-66

These Āyāt make it clear that joking and mocking anything of religious value is Harām and it can reach to the level of Kufr, because Allāh says:

Lā Ta’tadhirū Qad Kafartum Ba’da Īmānikum – Make no excuse; youhave disbelieved after your Belief. And if we look at it, what have they said? They just said that the Romans are going to defeat you. So this tells us that mocking, making fun of anything in Islām, whether it is making fun of Qur’ān, making fun of Hadīth, making fun of Rasūlullāhﷺ or joking in a way that is disrespectful to the divinity of Allāh, all of this is very very dangerous and it can reach to Kufr and it is a sign of Nifāq. So we need to be very careful and not make jokes and fun because sometimes there are jokes that are inappropriate, there are jokes that make fun of Āyāt of Qur’ān or Suwar of Qur’ān, and this should be avoided because of the extreme danger in it; it is blasphemy, so as a Muslim we need to be very cautious. It also tells us that Islām is sacred and we have to hold it in high esteem and give it the sanctity that it deserves; we should not belittle our religion and we should not let anyone else belittle our religion.

So these stern warnings were to the Munāfiqīn who were making fun of the Muslims and the abilities of the Muslims. And also today – if we could implement these meanings in our modern day – even if we are weak or disunited, we should not spread rumours and words that weaken the Muslims, and we should not implant in the minds of the Muslims that your enemy is undefeatable and that you are weak and you have no hope and you have no future; all of these [are] things that we as Muslims should not involve in. We need to uplift the Ummah, we need to encourage the Ummah, we need to remind the Ummah that Kuntum Khaira Ummatin Ukhrijat Linnās –  You  are  the best  nation  produced [as  an  example]  for mankind Āl ‘Imrān: 110,we need to remind the Ummah of its bright past and bright future also, because we do as Muslims have a bright future, because the future belongs to the Muttaqīn, Wal ‘Āqibatu Lil Muttaqīn – And the (blessed) end is for the Muttaqūn Al-A’rāf: 128, the end belongs to the people of Taqwā. So we should not speak about the ability and the strength and the power of the Kuffār and the weakness and the disunity of the Muslims in a sense that demoralises the Muslims and makes them give up and accept the status quo, as Muslims we should not do that.

20.4.3 Abū Dharr and his Last Days

Now, the army left, and as we mentioned before, Rasūlullāhﷺ made Istinfār –a general mobilisation; every Muslim, everyone who says Lā Ilāha Illallāh, needs to come out. The army left and there were some people who stayed behind. Now, whenever they would come to Rasūlullāhﷺ and say [that] so and so did not come, Rasūlullāhﷺ would say, “Leave him alone, if there is any good in him Allāh will make him follow you, and if there is not then Allāh has given you relief from him.” And then they came to Rasūlullāhﷺ and said, “Abū Dharr is not with us.” Rasūlullāhﷺ said the same thing, “Leave him, if there is any good in him he would follow you and if not then Allāh has relieved you from him.” Abū Dharr was following them but his camel was slow, and when it slowed him down too much he picked up his belongings and jumped off the camel and left. And Abū Dharr was walking in the heat of the desert with his belongings, and then the Muslims see in the horizon this man appearing from far away walking alone in the heat of the desert. They came to Rasūlullāhﷺ and said, “O Rasūlullāh, there is a man following us [from] far away.” Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Kun Abā Dharr – Be Abū Dharr.” When the man approached, it was Abū Dharr, so they came to Rasūlullāhﷺ and said, “O Rasūlullāh, it is Abū Dharr.” Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Yarhamullāhu Abā Dharr, Yamshī Wahdahū Wa Yamūtu Wahdahū Wa Yub‘athu Wahdah –May Allāh have mercy on Abū Dharr, he walks alone, will die alone, and will be resurrected on the Day of Judgement alone.”

Subhān’Allāh, the years passed and Abū Dharr was living in the time of the extreme wealth of the Muslims and the Muslim Khilāfah, and Abū Dharr was a man who was brought up in the tough desert who believed in Islām in the early days when things were still tough; Abū Dharr accepted Islām when Rasūlullāhﷺ was in Makkah, when things were hard, and Abū Dharr’s description was [that] he was a very dark man, well-built, huge, and he was hot-tempered, and he was a very strict man, and he was a Zāhid – he followed a strict form of austerity, and he had the belief that Muslims should not store wealth and keep it, and that they should give their wealth to the needy and [to] the causes of good, while the predominant view among the Muslims, and this is the view that is adopted by the ‘Ulamā’, is [that] if a person pays the Zakāh of his money then the rest of his money is Halāl, and people can save money and can leave behind money otherwise there would be no point in having laws of inheritance in Qur’ān if you are not going to leave anything behind.

But Abū Dharr used to follow this strict austerity and he was not getting along with the authorities and he was not getting along with many people. He was in Ash -Shām in the time of Mu‘āwiyah, and Ash-Shām was the store of the wealth, that was where the [wealth was]. Ya’nī because of Jihād Fee Sabeelillāh with the Romans and because the land of Ash-Shām in itself is a very blessed land, the Muslims were becoming very wealthy over there and he was not happy with that. So Mu‘āwiyah, who was the governor of Ash-Shām, sent a letter to the Khalīfah ‘Uthmān Ibn ‘Affān telling him, “Laqad Afsad ‘Alayya Abū Dharr Ash-Shām –Abū Dharr has ruined Ash-Shām for me.” So ‘Uthmān Ibn ‘Affān recalled Abū Dharr and summoned him to come back to Madīnah, so Abū Dharr left Ash -Shām and he came to Madīnah and ‘Uthmān Ibn ‘Affān told him to stay in Madīnah. Abū Dharr told ‘Uthmān Ibn ‘Affān, “I want to have nothing to do with your Dunyā, leave me alone, allow me to go to Ar-Ribdah.” Ar-Ribdah is a very small village or town in the middle of the desert. He did not even want to stay in Madīnah, he was totally against what he was seeing. So ‘Uthmān Ibn ‘Affān gave him permission to go to Ar-Ribdah. He went there and that is where he lived, and ‘Uthmān told him, “Then I am going to give you some camels as provision for you.” He said, “I want nothing to do with them, I will survive on my own,” and he just left without taking anything.

And when he was on his deathbed, alone, in the middle of the desert, with no one but his wife and his servant; no neighbours, no friends, no one, Abū Dharr, the Companion of Rasūlullāhﷺ, this great Sahābï, this scholar – he used to be a Muftī in the time of Abū Bakr and ‘Umar and ‘Uthmān – and now he is living alone; no students, no friends, no neighbours, no one, and he is on his deathbed, so his wife started weeping. He asked her, “Why are you crying?” She said, “How come you do not want me to cry when you are dying over here and I do not even have anything to use as your coffin and I have no strength and ability to bury you?” He told her, “Abshirī Walā Tabkī – Be happy and do not cry, because I heard Rasūlullāhﷺ say to a gathering that included me, ‘One of you will die in Falāh (Falāh is an empty land), and his burial will be witnessed by a group of Believers – Mu’minīn.’ And all of the people in that gathering died and the only one left behind is me, and they have all died in Jamā‘ah – they were all in a group; I am the only one who fulfils this Hadīth [of] dying alone. So Absirī Tarīq – go and check out the road.” She said, “What road are you talking about? The Pilgrims have already left, they are back in their homes and the roads are unused.” So probably this was an area where Pilgrims would pass through but after that you [would] rarely see anyone. But he told her to go out, so she would go out [and] spend some time watching, seeing if there was anyone showing up, and then she would go back and nurse him. Until one day she saw a group of men riding on their camels coming from the horizon, Karrakhum –they were described as looking like vultures; apparently she gave them that description because probably if you are in a desert and you see people coming from far away on camels that is how they would look like, like vultures. So she waved to them and they came to her and they said, “What do you want Amatallāh? O servant of Allāh, what is it that you need?” She said, “There is a man over here who is dying and I want you to take care of him.” They asked, “Who is he?” She said, “Abū Dharr.” They said, “The Companion of Rasūlullāh?ﷺ  ” She said, “Yes.” Fafaddawhu Bi Ābā’ihim Wa Ummahātihim –they sacrificed their fathers and their mothers for him, they said, “May our fathers and mothers be sacrificed for him.” And they rushed to help Abū Dharr and they came in when he was lying down in his last moments and he told them, “Abshirū – I give you the glad-tidings; Rasūlullāhﷺ told me, ‘You will die in an empty land, and your burial will be witnessed by people who are Believers.’” And then he told them, “If I or my wife had a garment that is suitable for me to use as a coffin I would have used it, but I have nothing.” Abū Dharr was living with nothing.

He was visited by Abū Mūsā once and Abū Mūsā came and saw Abū Dharr doing this housework and he came in to help him and Abū Dharr told him, “Ilaika ‘Annī – Leave me alone.” Abū Mūsā said, “I am your brother.” Abū Dharr told him, “You are not my brother; you used to be my brother before you assumed positions of leadership.” He did not even want to have anything to do with someone who was appointed as an Amīr; you can see how strict Abū Dharr was in his Zuhd. And this other visitor came and described Abū Dharr as having an unkempt hair and very old garments; he was living a very difficult, hard life. So now it is time for his Janāzah and he does not even have anything to use as a coffin, and then he told them [that] if I had anything or my wife had anything [then] I would have used it, but I do not have anything, and then he told them, “And I do not want any one of you to give me a coffin if you have been an Amīr or a policeman or a postman.” So if you have been an Amīr working with a government, or a police officer, or a postman, I do not want you to give me anything. So if there is anyone among you who has not assumed these posts in the past, then he can give me a coffin. All of them had assumed these roles at one point of time except one Ansārī who was a young man among them who did not, and he told him, “I am going to give you two garments that were made by my mother,” and he gave him that to use as his coffin. And Abū Dharr died alone and was buried, and they prayed the Janāzah on him, and this is the end of the life of one of the great Sahābah of Rasūlullāhﷺ.

Dear brothers and sisters, forget about following the way of Abū Dharr, no one of us could do that, but we talk about Abū Dharr so that we can make a comparison with ourselves and see how miserable we are. The luxury we live in, the safety, the security, the wealth, the easiness of life, when we compare that to the way of Abū Dharr who held on to the strict Zuhd until he passed away, it shows us the huge difference between us and him and it makes us realise how unfortunate we are. We ask Allāh to forgive us, we ask Allāh to guide us to the straight path and make us true Believers.

20.4.4 Abū Khaithamah

Another one of As-Sahābah, an Ansārī, a man from Al- Ansār, his man is Abū Khaithamah. When Rasūlullāhﷺ and the Muslims left, he was still in Madīnah. He went back home and he had two ‘Arīsh; ‘Arīsh is a hut made from tweaks, and in summer when you pour water on this hut, it becomes very comfortable and cool inside because air can come through, and when it is soaked with water it is natural air-conditioning. So he had these two huts and there was one of his wives in each hut and they had prepared for him food and cold water. So he comes in and sees this and then he says, “Rasūlullāh is in the hot weather and the wind, and Abū Khaithamah is in a cool shade and a prepared food and with beautiful wives; this is not fair. In the name of Allāh, I am not going to enter into any one of these huts until I follow Rasūlullāhﷺ, so prepare my provisions.” So they prepared for him his provisions and he pulled one of his camels and he followed Rasūlullāhﷺ. He only caught up with them when they were at Tabūk, and he came to Rasūlullāhﷺ and Rasūlullāhﷺ told him, “Awlā Laka Yā Abā Khaithamah,” and that is a warning from Rasūlullāhﷺ to Abū khaithamah. And then he told Rasūlullāhﷺ what happened so Rasūlullāh made Du‘ā’ for him.

Dear brothers and sisters, a reflection on this story of Abū Khaithamah; pretty much the way Abū Khaithamah saw things in Madīnah is how we are, and we are even in a better situation.

20.5 Rasūlullāhﷺ Refuses Water from Dwellings of the Transgressors

Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Do not enter the dwellings of the people who transgressed against themselves except if you are going to weep; if you are not going to weep then do not enter their dwellings lest the punishment that afflicted them afflicts you.” And then Rasūlullāhﷺ told them to just pour away the water that they got, and the dough that they made from that water, to feed it to the animals. So Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted to have nothing to do with Thamūd or their land or their water – nothing, and Rasūlullāhﷺ told us why; we should either take the reminder and the lesson and weep because of what happened to them, otherwise we should stay away because the punishment of Allāh could befall us like it befell them. And what we learn from this is that we should have no pride whatsoever with the so-called civilisations of the past that were Mushrikīn and who were punished by Allāh. How can we have pride in Babylon and Fir‘aun and all of these other Kuffār when they were enemies of Allāh? How can we be proud with the pyramids or be proud with the ruins of Bābil or the ruins that exist in other parts of the Muslim world, whether they are Roman or Greek or whatever, when these were people who were Kuffār, who were enemies of Allāh? It is very sad to see Muslims having pride in their pre-Islāmic history, and this is a plot by the enemies of Allāh. By the way, they have mentioned this in some of their writings that we want to revive the pre-Islāmic history in order to attach the Muslims to it and this would lessen their attachment to their Islāmic history. We need to put things in the right perspective; these are the enemies of Allāh and we should not visit their sites except if we are going to take the reminder from it and if it is going to soften our hearts and make us weep because of the fate that occurred to them because of the wrath of Allāh on them because of their Kufr. Nowadays it is a shame to see some Muslims taking these photographs next to the mummy of Fir‘aun while they are smiling and happy, it is a shame to see that some Muslims are going as far as even naming their sons Fir‘aun; having pride in that part of history to the extent that they would name their sons Fir‘aun, and this is because of this reviving of [this pre-Islāmic history] and [what] they call civilisations; they are called civilisations in a good sense when in reality they have no civilisation at all.

‘Abdur Rahmān Ibn ‘Awf – The Only Sahābï Rasūlullāhﷺ Prayed Behind: Rasūlullāhﷺ went to make Wudū’ and he was very late for Salāh, so the Muslims made Iqāmah and ‘Abdur Rahmān Ibn ‘Awf led the Salāh. Rasūlullāhﷺ caught them while they were still in prayer and ‘Abdur Rahmān Ibn ‘Awf wanted to retreat but Rasūlullāhﷺ had him carry on and Rasūlullāhﷺ prayed behind ‘Abdur Rahmān Ibn ‘Awf. That makes ‘Abdur Rahmān Ibn ‘Awf the only Sahābï whom Rasūlullāhﷺ prayed behind and this is a great virtue for ‘Abdur Rahmān Ibn ‘Awf.

Rasūlullāhﷺ Buries ‘Abdullāh Dhul Bajādain with his Blessed Hands: ‘Abdullāh Ibn Mas‘ūd says, “In the middle of the night during the Battle of Tabūk I saw a torch, so I followed it and I saw Rasūlullāhﷺ, Abū Bakr and ‘Umar. And ‘Abdullāh Dhul Bajādain Al-Muzanī had died and they had prepared his grave, and Rasūlullāhﷺ was the one who descended into his grave while Abū Bakr and ‘Umar were the ones who were descending the body to Rasūlullāhﷺ. And Rasūlullāhﷺ was telling them, ‘Bring down your brother,’ and they were handing Rasūlullāhﷺ the body of Dhul Bajādain.” Dhul Bajādain was a very poor man, unknown, simple, and it was Abū Bakr, ‘Umar, and Rasūlullāhﷺ himself who were preparing his Janāzah, and ‘Abdullāh Ibn Mas‘ūd was watching. And then Rasūlullāhﷺ was the one who put him with his own hands in the grave and then Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Allāhuma Innī Qad Amsaytu Rādiyan ‘Anhu Farda ‘Anhu – OAllāh, Iam pleased with him, so OAllāh, be pleased with him.” ‘Abdullāh Ibn Mas‘ūd said, “Yā Laytanī Kuntu Sāhibal Hufrah – I wish that I was the one in that grave.” To have that blessing of Rasūlullāhﷺ making that Du‘ā’ for you and holding you with his hands and putting you in the grave is such a great blessing [that] ‘Abdullāh Ibn Mas‘ūd said [that] I wish I was there.

Khālid Bin Walīd Captures King of Dawmat Al-Jandal: When the army reached to the land of the Romans, Ash-Shām, Rasūlullāh sent Khālid Ibn Walīd to Ukaidir Dawmat Jandal – the king of Dawmat Jandal. Rasūlullāhﷺ told Khālid Ibn Walīd to capture him and bring him, and Ukaidir was living in a very strong fortress in Dawmatul Jandal, so Rasūlullāhﷺ told Khālid Ibn Walīd, “You would find him hunting bulls.” You would find him hunting. Ukaidir used to go and hunt, and he would go out on horseback with a large group of his men and they would travel and spend extended periods of time searching for the bulls; it was not an easy thing and he used to train his horses specifically for that. So Rasūlullāhﷺ sent Khālid Bin Walīd with a number of Muslims to capture him and bring him, and it was a full moon night and Ukaidir was with his wife on the roof of his palace, and Subhān’Allāh, they saw the bulls come right to the gates of the fortress and they were scratching their horns on the gates of the fort, and that was something unbelievable, they had never seen that before; he would have to travel [a] long distance to find them and here they are right next to him. So his wife asked him, “Did you ever see anything like this?!” He said, “Never!” She asked, “Is this something that you could pass on?” He said, “No!” and he immediately went down and told his servants to prepare his horses and he took with him a few of his followers along with his brother and they rushed out of the fortress to hunt down these bulls, and they were routed by Khālid Bin Walīd and they were surrounded, and the brother of Ukaidir fought and he was killed and Ukaidir and the rest surrendered and they were captured by Khālid Ibn Walīd and they were brought to Rasūlullāhﷺ. He agreed to the terms of paying Jizyah and going back.

20.6 No Fighting Occurs in Tabūk

There was no fighting that occurred because when the Romans heard about the advance of Rasūlullāhﷺ, Allāh had put fear in their hearts, so Subhān’Allāh they did not come forth even though they had better preparation, large numbers, stronger weapons, but they were afraid to meet Rasūlullāhﷺ in actual battle and therefore Rasūlullāhﷺ stayed there and waited for them and nobody came. And during that time, Rasūlullāh opened a few cities and made agreements with others and took Jizyah from them. So it was a very successful Ghazwah even though no fighting was involved.

20.6.1 Battle of Tabūk was a Test for Muslims

It was very difficult, it was a test for the Muslims as we have mentioned, Allāh says: Allāh has already forgiven the Prophet and the Muhājirīn and the Ansār who followed him in the hour of difficulty (the hour of difficulty is the Battle of Tabūk) after the hearts of a party of them had almost inclined [to doubt] (because of the difficulty), and then He forgave them. Indeed, He was to them Kind and Merciful. At-Tawbah: 117

Sonow you can see that we are reaching to the closing chapters because forgiveness is something that comes towards the end, so Rasūlullāhﷺ and the Muslims are being told that Allāh has forgiven Rasūlullāh and the Muhājirīn and the Ansār who followed him in the hour of difficulty. So Allāh has given them Tawbah and has accepted their Tawbah, and this means that the end of the time of Rasūlullāhﷺ was approaching because that is something that we do towards the end of ‘Ibādah, it is to ask Allāh for Istighfār.

20.6.2 Masjid Dirār

When Rasūlullāhﷺ initially left from Madīnah, he was invited to pray in a Masjid that was newly built. There were some people next to Madīnah who built a new Masjid, it was all done, finished, and when Rasūlullāhﷺ was going to Tabūk they told him, “We want you to come and bless the Masjid with a Salāh.” Rasūlullāhﷺ told them, “I am travelling at the moment, when I come back Inshā’Allāh I will pray in your Masjid, but now we are travelling.” When Rasūlullāhﷺ was close to Madīnah, Rasūlullāh was informed about the true intentions of the people of this Masjid. You see, there was a man called Abū ‘Āmir Al-Fāsiq; this man belonged to Al-Khazraj and he was a prominent member of the tribe. He was given the name Abū ‘Āmir Ar-Rāhib in the time of Jāhiliyyah because he was a believer in Allāh and he used to worship Allāh and he had learnt from the People of the Book and followed their religion, and he was a very religious person, [a] deeply devout individual. But Subhān’Allāh, when Rasūlullāh came to Madīnah, he was one of his worst enemies. Subhān’Allāh, you can see the irony here of this devout individual, a person who was deeply religious; you would expect him to be the closest to Islām but Subhān’Allāh he was the furthest. You can also see the irony of Mushrikīn – Polytheists, becoming Muslim, while the Jews and the Christians who know about Allāh, and you would expect them to become Muslim, they did not. So he went to Quraish encouraging them to fight against the Muslims and he participated in the battles of Quraish against Muhammadﷺ. In fact in the Battle of Uhud, he was the one who dug the holes, the traps, in which Rasūlullāhﷺ fell into one of them which caused the teeth of Rasūlullāhﷺ to break and for some iron nails from his helmet to enter into his cheeks; this was caused because of Abū ‘Āmir Al-Fāsiq. His name was Abū ‘Āmir Ar-Rāhib – Abū ‘Āmir the Priest; he was given that nickname because of him being religious, [but] Rasūlullāhﷺ called him Abū ‘Āmir Al-Fāsiq – Abū ‘Āmir the Corrupt; rather than the priest, the corrupt.

When he saw that Quraish were unsuccessful in their fight against Rasūlullāhﷺ he went all the way to meet Hiraql – Heraclius, and he would ask him to send an army to invade Madīnah; he was promised by Hiraql that he would be given assistance. And he would send letters to some of the Munāfiqīn in Madīnah promising them that I am going to come with an army to destroy the Muslim State. And what happened was he asked them to establish a base from which they can spread their conspiracy, a place where they can meet and plot, and that place was the Masjid they built. A Masjid gives them a good cover, but in reality it was a place to plot against the Muslims, it was a place to promote the agenda of the Kuffār. Rasūlullāh was given Wahī – Revelation that exposed this plan. Allāh says:

And [there are] those [Hypocrites] who took for themselves a mosque for causing harm and Disbelief and division among the Believers and as a station for whoever had warred against Allāh and His Messenger before. And they will surely swear, “We intended only the best.” And Allāh testifies that indeed they are liars. Do not stand [for Prayer] within it – ever. A mosque founded on righteousness from the first day is more worthy for you to stand in. This is referring to the Masjid Al-Qubā’. Within it are men who love to purify themselves; and Allāh loves those who purify themselves. At-Tawbah: 107-108

SoAllāh is telling Rasūlullāhﷺ [that] you should not pray in this Masjid, but you should pray in a Masjid that was established on Taqwā from the first day and where there are Believers, people who want to purify themselves. Then is one who laid the foundation of his building on righteousness [with fear] from Allāh and [seeking] His approval better or one who laid the foundation of his building on the edge of a bank about to collapse, so it collapsed with him into the fire of Hell? And Allāh does not guide the wrongdoing people. Their building which they built will not cease to be a [cause of] skepticism in their hearts until their hearts are stopped. And Allāh is Knowing and Wise. At-Tawbah: 109-110

Rasūlullāhﷺ ordered that the Masjid should be burnt down to the ground and that is what happened and the plot was exposed. Brothers and sisters, the story of Masjid Dirār is a story of a Masjid that was established to promote Kufr rather than Īmān, while the Masjid of Qubā’ and the Masjid of Rasūlullāhﷺ in Madīnah were Masjids that were established from the first day to promote the truth, and therefore any Masjid that is existing today to promote the agenda of the Disbelievers is a Masjid of Dirār, and it is the same because Rasūlullāhﷺ was told by Allāh  Dirāran Wa Kufran – it is a Masjid that was built Dirār, which is harm, and Disbelief. And this is something that occurs nowadays; you find that there are Masājid that promote the agenda of the Kuffār.

20.6.3 People of Madīnah Beautifully Greet Rasūlullāhﷺ on his Return from Tabūk

Rasūlullāhﷺ entered into Madīnah and he was greeted by the people saying Tala‘al Badru ‘Alaynā Min Thaniyyātil Wadā’i, Wajabash Shukru ‘Alaynā Mā Da’ā Lillāhi Dā‘i. Some historians mention that these words were said when Rasūlullāhﷺ made Hijrah from Makkah to Madīnah, but Ibn Al-Qayyim says that that is incorrect because Thaniyyātil Wadā’ is to the north of Madīnah, and when Rasūlullāhﷺ would be coming from Makkah he would be coming from the south, therefore he says that this happened when Rasūlullāhﷺ was coming back from Tabūk and not when he made Hijrah from Makkah to Madīnah.

20.7 Lessons and Benefits from the Battle of Tabūk by Ibn Al-Qayyim

Ibn Al-Qayyim then goes on to mention some lessons and benefits that can be derived from this Ghazwah. There is one more incident that occurred in this Ghazwah and I would mention that in a lecture of its own, and that is the story of Ka’b Ibn Mālik, so we will leave that Inshā’Allāh to the next lecture. We will talk about some of the benefits that were mentioned by Ibn Al-Qayyim in his book Zād Al-Ma‘ād. He says, “A chapter on some of the benefits we can learn in this Ghazwah.”

20.7.1 If the Imām Mobilises an Army it is Mandatory to Respond

Ibn Al-Qayyim says, “If the Imām mobilises the army then it is a must on them to respond.” And he says. “If the Imām mobilises the army then it is mandatory on them to come and no one can stay behind. And a general mobilisation is sufficient to make it obligatory,” [meaning] he does not have to mention each one by name. And then he says, “And this is one of the three situations where Jihād becomes mandatory; the second is when the enemy invades a Muslim land and the third is when the two armies meet.”

20.7.2 It is Mandatory to Support Jihād Fee Sabeelillāh with Wealth

The next benefit: “It is mandatory to support fighting Fee Sabeelillāh with wealth. And this is one of the two narrations from Imām Ahmad and there is no doubt in this that it is mandatory to support fighting Fee Sabeelillāh with your wealth.” And he says that it is more important than fighting with one’s self. And then he mentions the Hadīth of Rasūlullāh that whoever finances a fighter then he has fought. And he goes on to mention that whoever has financial ability then that is what he should do.

20.7.3 One Incapable of Fighting is Not Excused until he Does his Best

He said, “The one who is incapable of fighting is not excused until he does his best.” Because he said that the ones who stayed behind they tried their best, they came to Rasūlullāhﷺ, they said support us, finance us, we want to go out, and they were eagerly trying to do so because when they were told that Rasūlullāhﷺ has nothing to support you with they left with tears flowing from their eyes, so he said that you need to do your best.

20.7.4 Avoid Dwellings of People upon whom Allāh Incurred His Wrath

He said, “It is not allowed to drink or cook or prepare the dough or make Wudū’ from the wells of Thamūd.” And he mentioned the reason in another situation; it is because they are people whom Allāh has incurred His wrath upon. He says, “When you pass next to the dwellings of the people whom Allāh has punished then you should not enter it and you should not stay there and you should try to pass by it as fast as possible and you should cover your face with your clothes until you pass it by,” meaning you should try to avoid it as much as possible, “except if you are going to enter it crying and you learn the lessons.”

20.7.5 Combining Prayers is Allowed

“It is allowed to combine Prayers in travel,” because Rasūlullāhﷺ combined when he was going to Tabūk.

20.7.6 Ghanīmah Captured by Small Army is for them and Not the Entire Army

“If the leader of the army sends a small group and they have won some spoils of war then what they have won belongs to them after they give 20% of it to the Amīr of the Muslims according to the rules of Ghanīmah.” So he says that it is not distributed among all of the army but it is given to the ones who were sent out.

20.7.7 Places of Sin Should Be Burnt Down

“Places of sin should be burnt down.” And the evidence for that is what Rasūlullāhﷺ did with the Masjid of Dirār. He said, “This is a Masjid where people are going to pray and mention the name of Allāh, nevertheless Rasūlullāhﷺ told the Sahābah to burn it to the ground, [so] what about the places of sin?” And he mentions the places of prostitution and where alcohol is being sold and he gives an example, he says that ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb had ordered that a village be burnt down because they were selling alcohol.

So these are some of the lessons that Ibn Al-Qayyim has mentioned from Ghazwat Tabūk.

20.8 The Hadīth of Ka’b Ibn Mālik

We have one topic left from the topic of the Battle of Tabūk, and this is what is known as the Hadīth of Ka’b Ibn Mālik. It is an authentic narration from him narrated by Al-Bukhārī and by other books of Hadīth and books of Seerah. This Hadīth has special significance because it represents a bad moment in the life of an exemplary man, a special man, a Companion of Rasūlullāhﷺ, and it is loaded with lessons for us because it is a story of someone who struggled to do good, and then being a human being, he went through a moment of weakness but was able to get out of it it because of his good deeds, because of his Tarbiyah, because of his Īmān. And I want you to contemplate on this Hadīth deeply and derive the lessons that are relevant to you as a Mu’min. We will go, Inshā’Allāh, through some of these lessons but I am sure that I would miss many, and therefore you need to have Tadabbur – contemplation on these words of the great Companion Ka’b Ibn Mālik. I am going to read the narration of Bukhārī and this was narrated by the grandson of Ka’b Ibn Mālik from his father who was the guide of Ka’b Ibn Mālik when he grew old and became blind, and the father is narrating his story to the son.

20.8.1 Ka’b Ibn Mālik Procrastinates

Ka’b Ibn Mālik says, “I have never stayed behind any battle of Rasūlullāh with the exception of the Battle of Tabūk, but I also missed the Battle of Badr, however, Rasūlullāhﷺ did not censor anyone who stayed behind.” And he gives the reason why Rasūlullāhﷺ did not hold anyone accountable for missing Badr; “Rasūlullāhﷺ went out in the Battle of Badr with a different intention.” It was not intended as a battle with the Mushrikīn of Quraish but it was intended as an attack on the Tijārah – caravan that was led by Abū Sufyān. They missed the caravan and then they ended up meeting the army of Quraish. He says, “And then they ended up meeting the enemy without a prior appointment. However, I have attended with Rasūlullāhﷺ the night of Al-‘Aqabah.” Remember, we have talked about Al-‘Aqabah towards the end of the series on Makkah, and this is when the Ansār gave Rasūlullāhﷺ the pledge of allegiance and they promised him support. Ka’b says I attended that; he was one of the Nuqabā’, he was one of the 12 leaders of Al-Ansār who represented the Ansār in giving the pledge to Rasūlullāhﷺ. Ka’b says, “I would not want to have attended Badr instead of Al-‘Aqabah even though Badr is more famous.” What Ka’b Ibn Mālik is saying is that they consider the night of Al-‘Aqabah to be such an important and special event that he would not exchange it with attending Badr. But then he says that Badr is very famous and it has such a high reputation, however the Laylatul ‘Aqabah was also a very important event and he attended that, he was there.

And then he starts to narrate the story of what happened on Tabūk, he said, “I was never before stronger or better-off than that time when I missed the Battle of Tabūk, never before did I own two riding camels, but I did own them during the Battle of Tabūk.” So Ka’b Ibn Mālik here is admitting that he has no excuse; he is strong and he has the financial capability which is represented in having a mount to ride; not only did he have one but he had two. “Rasūlullāhﷺ would never send out an army to fight a particular enemy but he would talk about a different destination. Rasūlullāhﷺ did this to mislead the enemy, so he would never have his destination exposed, and he would do that in order to surprise the enemy and catch them off-guard.” That was the habit of Rasūlullāhﷺ, however with the Battle of Tabūk it was different, Ka’b Ibn Mālik says, “Because it was in a time of extreme heat, and it was a long journey and it was a numerous enemy, therefore Rasūlullāhﷺ made the announcement public to the Muslims that we are going to such and such place and we are facing the Romans, and he did that so that they would take appropriate measures and preparations for this battle.” So this shows you that Tabūk was different and special. “The Muslims were numerous,” and the books of Seerah say that they were 30,000; that is the most authentic narration, that the number of Muslims was 30,000. So you can see that it surpasses any other battle before it; in Fath Makkah they were 10,000, and in Hawāzin they were 12,000, and now suddenly we have a jump to 30,000 even though it is just a few months after the Battle of Hawāzin, but Rasūlullāhﷺ made a full mobilisation for the Battle of Tabūk and all of the tribes were called to and summoned to attend, again, because of the special circumstances.

Ka’b Ibn Mālik says, “But there was no Dīwān.” Dīwān is a register; meaning there was no roll, the names were not written, and therefore he says, “So if a person wants to stay behind, he might assume that he would be undisclosed as long as there would be no Revelation coming from Allāh exposing him.” Because of the huge numbers, a person could assume that Rasūlullāhﷺ would not miss that person, because we are talking about 30,000; it is difficult to keep track of who is there and who is not. Ka’b Ibn Mallik says, “And Rasūlullāhﷺ went out in that battle in a time when the fruits were ripe and the shade was alluring,” and this is a very important statement of Ka’b Ibn Mālik. Ka’b Ibn Mālik here is being honest in this narration and he is speaking to us about the true reasons and the hidden reasons that are going within the mind and the heart. He is saying that at that time, it was a time when the shade was very alluring because it was very hot, and the fruits were ripening on the trees, and these are temptations for a person to stay behind. And then he says, “The Messenger of Allāh and the Muslims started making their preparations and I began hurrying to prepare but I would retire without accomplishing anything.” Meaning he had the intention to prepare but he would not do anything – procrastination, a human habit, something that is usual; if you do not commit yourself, if you do not discipline yourself to do something, you are not going to do it, and you are going to delay the work of today to tomorrow, and that is what Ka’b Ibn Mālik was doing. And then he tells us something, he said, “I would tell myself that I am able to do it.” Nafs – the self, could drag you down if you do not discipline it. If you leave your affairs to your whims and just let it go with the flow you are not going to get anything done. And Ka’b Ibn Mālik was speaking to himself and saying I can do it; eventually he did not do it. So we need to be very careful from the Nafs, because the Nafs is lazy, the Nafs is afraid, the Nafs is weak, the Nafs loves Dunyā, and if you do not force it and discipline it and tame it to follow the orders of Allāh it will wander with you and take you astray. You have to be very careful; your Nafs could be your worst enemy if you do not pay attention. “And time was passing by and people were deep in their preparation and then suddenly the next morning Rasūlullāhﷺ and the Muslims were ready,” – that is it, they are set to go – “and I had done nothing to prepare myself.” He is at the initial stage, he has done nothing, and the Muslims are ready to leave this morning. “I said I am going to prepare and get ready within a day or two and then I am going to catch up with them. They left and I decided to get myself ready and I did not. And the next day the same thing; I would come back and I would do nothing, and that was the case until the army had left and it was over.” And here, brothers and sisters, if you think that you could hasten a thing, so you procrastinate and then you think that you can combine it and hasten it, many times what happens is you end up doing nothing because the issue piles up and piles up until it becomes too much to manage, and when you look at the amount of work you have to do you just end up giving up. So it is a trick from yourself to tell you to procrastinate and then it is another trick from yourself when your self tells you that is it, it is too late, and you end up giving up. Also brothers and sisters, this is another indication – because here Ka’b Ibn Mālik is talking in the context of going out Fee Sabeelillāh – [that] going out Fee Sabeelillāh is a caravan, and this caravan is moving, and it is going on continuously because Rasūlullāhﷺ says that this will continue until the Day of Judgement. There will be an enemy that is fought at any point of time according to the Ahādīth of Rasūlullāhﷺ; in the Ahādīth of Tā’if Al-Mansūrah Rasūlullāhﷺ says they are fighting until the end of time, until Dajjāl comes out and there will be fighting Fee Sabeelillāh. There was fighting in Sabeelillāh yesterday, there is fighting Fee Sabeelillāh today, and there will be fighting Fee Sabeelillāh tomorrow. And the caravan is moving, and the more you delay joining it the further it will be and the more difficult it will be for you to catch up, and this is exactly what happened with Ka’b Ibn Mālik. If Ka’b Ibn Mālik was not able, and he failed to catch up, who do you think you are to be able to catch up if you wait for too long? And then he says, “And I was still thinking about setting out and catching up with them and I wish that I did.” Ka’b Ibn Mālik wishes that he did and one day you will wish that you did, if not in Dunyā then in Ākhirah when you see the great rewards that are given to these special people whom Allāh has bestowed His favour upon, and guided them to the straight path, and showed them the best of deeds, the peak and pinnacle of Islām, [then] you will desire that you did. Ka’b Ibn Mālik is saying, “Laytanī – I wish, I wish, that I did; it was not destined for me to do so.”

20.8.2 Degrading Statement Made against Ka’b Ibn Mālik

When the army left and he was left behind in Madīnah, he would go out, walk around, go to the marketplaces. He said, “Whenever I went out and mixed with people after the departure of the Messenger of Allāh, it grieved me that the only men I saw were persons suspected of hypocrisy or those excused by the Messenger of Allāhﷺ because they were in poor health.” So these are the ones who stay behind; the Munāfiqīn and the ones who were excused; these are the ones who stay behind. “The Messenger of Allāh made no mention of me until after he reached Tabūk.” Rasūlullāhﷺ remembered him when he was at Tabūk. Rasūlullāhﷺ said when he was in a gathering, “What did Ka’b do?” A man from Banī Salamah, the same clan of Ka’b from Al-Khazraj, said, “O Messenger of Allāh, he was detained by his two cloaks and looking at the beauty of his clothes.” Now, brothers and sisters, ya’nī this is such a degrading statement that was made. Here you are talking about men, they are true men, and they know what is shameful, and such a statement is such a degrading statement against Ka’b Ibn Mālik. To say that he was held behind because of his clothes and staring at them is like him saying that he is a woman who is just enjoying her clothes and looking at how beautiful these clothes are; it is not a manly thing to be concerned with how cute the clothes are and how handsome a man looks in the mirror when people are fighting, when people are in the battlefield, so it is a very shameful thing. And Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal, who is also from Al-Ansār and from the people of Ka’b Ibn Mālik, responded to that statement and said, “What a bad thing you have said! O Messenger of Allāh, we know nothing about him but good.” Rasūlullāhﷺ was quiet.

Now, when Rasūlullāhﷺ was silent, that means that he was approving of what was mentioned, otherwise Rasūlullāhﷺ would answer back, and let us take a look at this for a moment; who is Ka’b Ibn Mālik? Ka’b Ibn Mālik is a man who was with Rasūlullāhﷺ from day one, Ka’b Ibn Mālik is a man who was from among the Ansār who came to Rasūlullāhﷺ and invited him to Madīnah, and they knew very well the consequences of such an act, they knew that the Arabs are going to fight them, they knew that they will sacrifice their selves and their wealth for Rasūlullāhﷺ, and he is one of the 12 men who put their hands in the hand of Rasūlullāhﷺ and gave him the pledge of allegiance. Ka’b Ibn Mālik is a man who was in the trench with Rasūlullāhﷺ in every day of battle; he was there in Uhud, he was there in Al-Khandaq, he was there in Fath Makkah, he was there in Khaibar, he was there in Hudaybiyyah, he was there in every single important moment in the history of Islām and he just missed out on that single day. Nevertheless, this man from Banū Salamah made that statement against him that he is staring at his clothes. So brothers and sisters, the action of Ka’b Ibn Mālik made him a target to these words; he has put himself in a vulnerable position because of his actions, he did something that brought and drew these statements against him. Even though he is such a good and great Companion of Rasūlullāhﷺ, but because what he did was wrong, he got himself into that situation. Regardless of whether the statement of this man is right or wrong, he, Ka’b Ibn Mālik, is the one who put himself in that situation to start with. And Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal spoke in defence of Ka’b Ibn Mālik  and Rasūlullāhﷺ was silent, because Rasūlullāhﷺ is taking by what is apparent, and what is apparent is that Ka’b Ibn Mālik did not show up.

20.8.3 Rasūlullāhﷺ Returns and Takes Excuses from People

And then Ka’b Ibn Mālik says, “And then when I heard the news that Rasūlullāhﷺ is on his way back, I became very anxious, and then I was thinking about lying and trying to fabricate an excuse to get out of the anger of Rasūlullāhﷺ when I meet him.” And then he said, “And I was seeking counsel from all of those from my family who have an opinion that I trust. And then when I was told that Rasūlullāhﷺ is almost here, all of the falsehood and those thoughts left my mind and I knew that I am not going to get out of this trouble at all if I lie and I decided that I am going to speak the truth.” And here you can see Ka’b Ibn Mālik, this righteous and great Companion, falling into deep trouble and committing a serious mistake, but because of his Īmān and because of the Tarbiyah that his Īmān gave him, he was able to pull himself out of this hole that he made for himself through his good deeds. The decision that Ka’b Ibn Mālik made to speak the truth and not to lie, as we will see, is what saved him from this big problem that he got himself into; you will see how serious staying behind is. “Rasūlullāhﷺ arrived in the morning, and when he would arrive from travelling, he would first go to the Masjid and pray two Rak‘ah. And then Rasūlullāhﷺ sat down for the people.” Because the people would come and meet Rasūlullāhﷺ, so he would sit in the Masjid and they would come and meet him in the Masjid; that was the congregation place for the people – the Masjid. “And when he did that, the ones who stayed behind came to Rasūlullāhﷺ giving their excuses and swearing – making an oath in the name of Allāh that we are speaking the truth – and they were above 80 men. So Rasūlullāh accepted their excuses and took what was apparent; took their words at face value, and he took their pledge of allegiance – their Bay‘ah, and he asked Allāh to forgive them, and he left the insides of their hearts to Allāh.”

And this is a general rule that Rasūlullāhﷺ applied that he would go by what is apparent; Al-Akhidh Biz Zāhir, and this is a very important rule that has a lot of implications. We judge people according to what we see; if we see Īmān outwardly, we judge that they are Believers even if they are Disbelievers in their hearts. If what we see from them are acts of Disbelief – Kufr, then we judge them according to that even if they are Believers in their hearts; that is the rule. And then we leave what is inside the hearts to Allāh on the Day of Judgement, but the rules that apply in Dunyā apply to what is apparent and not to what is hidden, and it is both for Islām and Kufr.

20.8.4 Ka’b Speaks Truth to Rasūlullāhﷺ

[Ka’b continues,] “So I came to Rasūlullāhﷺ and I gave him Salām and he smiled to me but it was a smile of one who is angry. And then he said, ‘Come here,’ so I came walking to him, and then I sat in front of him and he asked me and said, ‘Why did you stay behind?’” Rasūlullāhﷺ is asking Ka’b Ibn Mālik, “Why did you stay behind?” And we will be asked why did we stay behind? Not by Rasūlullāhﷺ but by Allāh on the Day of Judgement. Rasūlullāhﷺ was there to ask Ka’b Ibn Mālik, and that question still holds true today and it holds true in every time when fighting Fee Sabeelillāh is a duty upon the Muslims; why did you stay behind? What is your answer? Prepare an answer for Allāh, prepare an answer for this question. Ka’b Ibn Mālik has thought about this question deeply and he has decided that he is going to speak the truth. And then Rasūlullāhﷺ asked him, “Did you not buy your mount?” So this shows us that Ka’b Ibn Mailk was not completely ignoring his duty, he actually tried to prepare and he went as far as buying a mount. It is not like he was completely oblivious to the situation; no, he was thinking about it, and as we have seen, he was so concerned and he would make the Niyyah every day that he is going to get ready but he did not. Rasūlullāhﷺ asked him, “Did you not buy your mount?” He said, “Yes.” And then he said, “In the name of Allāh, if I sat with someone else from the people of Dunyā, I would have assumed that I will be able to get out of his anger with an excuse, Walaqad U’tītu Jadalā – and I have the eloquence and I have the ability to argue.” Ka’b Ibn Mālik was a poet and he was one of the famous and important poets of Madīnah who defended Islām and Rasūlullāhﷺ with their poetry; the most famous poets of Madīnah were Hassān Ibn Thābit, Ka’b Ibn Mālik and ‘Abdullāh Ibn Rawāhah, so he was one of the top three poets of Rasūlullāhﷺ. So he is saying, “Walaqad U’tītu Jadalā – I have been gifted with the ability to debate and argue.” He is a man who could convince you with his point of view. In other words, he is saying that I could, O Messenger of Allāh, give excuses that will sound valid and convincing, but I realise that speaking this to you would eventually be exposed because you are the Messenger of Allāh; my lie will not go that far and I will be exposed. So here he is saying that I am going to speak the truth.

The Argument that we are Living in the Makkan Stage: Now, with this statement of Ka’b Ibn Mālik, when he says, “Walaqad U’tītu Jadalā – Ihave been given the ability to argue or convince,” nowadays many arguments are made for excusing one’s self of fulfilling their duties towards Allāh and the Religion of Allāh, and the most convincing arguments come from people who have a background in knowledge, the people who are well-versed in the evidences, so they have the ability to pull out some Āyāt of Qur’ān and to pull out some Ahādīth and to pull out some statements and then bring them together in a way that may sound convincing as presenting an argument that gives them an excuse. For example, you would have people say that we are in Makkah, and you would have others say that we are in the weak stage so we need to apply the rules that apply to the weak stage. Now, the thing here is that yes, there was a situation once upon a time 1400 years ago when Rasūlullāhﷺ was in Makkah that they applied rules of weakness before they went to Madīnah. So a person may come today and say that we are in Makkah, so you go to that brother and tell him, ‘Well, fine, if you are in Makkah then why do you not go to Madīnah? When Rasūlullāhﷺ was in Makkah he struggled to go to Madīnah, so if you are now in Makkah stage why do you not struggle to go to the Madīnah stage?’

The thing is that he would not want to; why? Because the pay in Madīnah is less than the pay in Makkah, the life in Makkah is more comfortable than it is going to be in Madīnah, and therefore this person is not willing to make the move. The person would say that we are in the stage of weakness; well fine, if you are in the stage of weakness then prepare yourself to get out of it! But the thing is you would find that person unwilling to prepare to get out of it because he knows very well that the path to strength is a path that is paved with difficulty and sacrifice. Yes, at one point of time Rasūlullāhﷺ was in Makkah and the Muslims were in Makkah, but they did all what was humanly capable for them to do in order to get out of that situation. If you look at the Seerah of Rasūlullāhﷺ you see that it is fascinating how Rasūlullāhﷺ would knock on every door possible to find a way out of Makkah; Rasūlullāh would meet with the tribes in every season of Hajj asking them to give him support so that he can make Hijrah to them. And when you do something once and twice and three times and every time you get the same answer of rejection you end up giving up; Rasūlullāhﷺ never gave up and he would do that year in and year out, and he would do that with first tribe, second tribe, third tribe, fourth tribe, fifth tribe, and never give up, until eventually he met with Al-Ansār and they are the ones who provided him with a base to spread the Da’wah.

So Rasūlullāhﷺ was trying every avenue possible to get out of Makkah and go to Madīnah, he tried every avenue possible to get out of the stage of weakness into the stage of strength. So whoever today is saying that we are in Makkah, that person needs to get out of Makkah, and whoever is in a state of weakness needs to struggle to get out of that stage of weakness, otherwise the Āyah of Allāh that applies would apply to them where Allāh says: Walaw Arādul Khurūja La’a‘addū Lahū ‘Uddah – And if they had intended to go forth, they would haveprepared for it [some] preparation. At-Tawbah: 46

But without any preparation, that means that a person is just paying lip service and it is not true.

So Ka’b Ibn Mālik is saying that I am not going to use my argumentative abilities [and] my debating abilities here. He said [to Rasūlullāhﷺ], “And if I speak the truth to you even though it might make you angry, I am expecting that in the truth will be the forgiveness of Allāh. Lā Wallāhi Mā Kāna Lī Min ‘Udhr – Ihave no excuse.” He made it clear to Rasūlullāhﷺ that he has no excuse in staying behind. “I was never stronger and more able to go out when I stayed behind.” Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “This man has spoken the truth, so leave until Allāh judges in your situation.” He said, “So I left, and some men from my clan followed me and they told me, ‘We have never known you to commit a sin before this; this is the first time. Why did you not give an excuse to Rasūlullāhﷺ just like everybody else did and the Istighfār of Rasūlullāhﷺ would have been sufficient for you?’” Because the ones who came before, Rasūlullāhﷺ asked Allāh to forgive them, so they told him [that] if you had come up with an excuse [then] Rasūlullāh would have asked Allāh for your forgiveness and that would have been sufficient enough to wipe out your sin. And he said, “And they were blaming me until I thought about going back to Rasūlullāhﷺ and making up an excuse.

But then I asked them, ‘Did anybody else say the same thing and get the same response?’ They said, ‘Yes, two men; they said like what you have said and they were told a similar answer to what was told to you. I asked, ‘Who are they?’ They said, ‘Murārah Bin Ar-Rabī’ Al-‘Amrī and Hilāl Ibn Umayyah Al-Wāqifī.’ They mentioned to me two righteous men and I saw them as examples for me.” These were two men and therefore there were others who had done the same thing that he had done and therefore he decided that he was not going to go back. And this shows us that when we see company, that gives us support, so when he saw that he had company in the action that he did in telling the truth, that encouraged him to carry on. And this shows us the importance of having good company around us because of the pressure of the society; you see, he was pressured to go back and make up a lie, and he was almost going to do that, so the pressure of the society is very strong and therefore you need to surround yourself with like-minded people who would support you to do good, especially for those who are living in rotten environments, in environments that are environments of Disbelief and environments of Fitnah; it is very important that you do not trust your abilities in survival and you realise that you are weak human being; Wa Khuliqal Insānu Da‘īfā – And mankind was created weak. An-Nisā’: 28

We are weak and therefore we need to have good company. It is very important to have like-minded people who would support you and advise you, Rasūlullāhﷺ says, “Ad-Dīnun Nasīhah – Religion is advice.” So you need to have people around you who would encourage you to do good. I would strongly advise anyone who is not in such an environment to change their environment immediately, because if you are strong today you might become vulnerable and weak tomorrow and you never know how deep you would fall, and in a time like this there is no end to how low a person could get; some people can keep on descending and descending and descending, getting deeper and deeper and deeper, until they become a Disbeliever, until they become Murtadd. So it is a very dangerous thing; do not underestimate the effect of your environment on you.

20.8.5 Muslims Boycott the Three Sahābahs

“Out of all of the people who stayed behind,” and remember that there were over 80, “Rasūlullāhﷺ had given orders that the three of us should be boycotted.” [This is] in terms of speaking, because it is not an economical boycott against them, it is a boycott of not speaking to them, not interacting with them. So Subhān’Allāh, the ones who spoke the truth end up getting boycotted, while the ones who lied, their excuses were accepted and they are fine. But you will see that this is only a short-term thing and it is short-lived, and this is a test from Allāh; sometimes a lie gives you an instant gratification and gives you an instant, very short-lived solution, but after that things begin to unravel, while truth, in the long-term, is always good. He said, “People boycotted us, stayed away from us, and their treatment changed. It was so bad until the land had become like it [was] unknown to me.” Subhān’Allāh, he is in Madīnah, he is from Madīnah, that is his home, he lived there all of his life, that is where he was born, but because the people changed, he even felt that the ground he is standing upon is different, it is like an unknown land to him; you feel homesick in your own home, you feel like a foreigner in your own land. Ka’b Ibn Mālik is saying that even the land was different to me; why? Because the people were boycotting them.

“That carried on for 50 days. My two companions just gave up and sat at home weeping, but me, I was the youngest among them and the toughest, so I would go out and I would pray in Jamā‘ah and I would go in the markets, but no one would speak to me.” So the other two just gave up, they could not handle walking around with people ignoring them and they just sat at home and they were crying, devastated, but Ka’b Ibn Mālik was strong, so he would go out and pray Jamā‘ah and go in the market even though he would be completely ignored. And this also shows us how strong the community was; an order from Rasūlullāhﷺ to boycott them [and] that was it, it was final, no one would speak. You go to the marketplace; no one is speaking, you go to the Masjid; no one is speaking – total obedience to Rasūlullāhﷺ. And this was why Hajr was powerful, the boycotting was powerful, because the whole society takes the command from Rasūlullāhﷺ and would do what they were told. “And I would go to Rasūlullāhﷺ when he was in his gathering and I would give him Salām and I would ask myself, ‘Did he move his lips in responding to my Salām?’” So Rasūlullāhﷺ would not answer him, so he would try to stare at the lips and see if Rasūlullāhﷺ was doing it quietly. “And when I would be in Salāh I would look at him, and when I would be concentrating on my Salāh and looking down, Rasūlullāhﷺ would stare at me, and when I would then move my eyes towards him and look at him Rasūlullāhﷺ would turn away.” So Rasūlullāhﷺ would only look at him when Ka’b Ibn Mālik was not looking at Rasūlullāhﷺ. “And when this had extended and became so long, I went and climbed the wall of the house of Abū Qatādah who was my cousin and the most beloved person to me. So I gave him Salām and he did not even respond back. I said, ‘O Abū Qatādah, I ask you in the name of Allāh, do you know me to be a person who loves Allāh and His Messenger?’ So he was silent. I asked him again; he was silent. I asked him again; he was silent. And then I asked him and he said, ‘Allāh and His Messenger know best.’ So my eyes were swelling with tears and I walked out.” Even his cousin would not speak to him.

20.8.6 Opportunist King of Ghassān Attempts to Draw In Ka’b Ibn Mālik

He said, “While I was walking around in the marketplace of Madīnah, a Nubtin…” –the people of Nubt are from Jordan in Ash-Shām, and he was a merchant who had some food to sell in Madīnah – “…was asking the people to point out to him Ka’b Ibn Mālik, so they guided him towards me. And then he came to me and handed me a letter from the King of Ghassān.” The King of Ghassān is a Christian who hated the Muslims and hated Rasūlullāhﷺ. It says in the books of Seerah that he wanted to draw an army and ask Heraclius for support because he was a proxy of Hiraql – these were kings who had big titles and names but they were traitors and agents for Hiraql – so he wanted to ask for permission from Hiraql to attack Madīnah; it was actually Hiraql who told him to stop and hold tight and not to attack Muhammadﷺ because Hiraql knew that Muhammadﷺ was the Messenger of Allāh and he did not want to start a confrontation with him. So Subhān’Allāh, Hiraql was wiser than the King of Ghassān who is an Arab and should have some sympathy towards Muhammadﷺ, but it shows you how the traitors sometimes are worse than their masters. The King of Ghassān sent a letter to Ka’b Ibn Mālik, so this shows you that there was some information-gathering going on and there was interest with what was happening in Madīnah, and the King of Ghassān caught word about what happened with Ka’b Ibn Mālik and he sent him this letter.

The letter stated, “I have heard that your friend has forsaken you (meaning Muhammadﷺ), and Allāh has not left you in a place where you would be humiliated and where you will be forsaken, so come to us and we will take care of you.” And here, brothers and sisters, you see a characteristic of the Kuffār; the Kuffār are going to try to draw in and strike deals with the Muslim leaders whom they see as willing or in a situation where they agree with the Kuffār on certain issues, it would show you that they would try to break in [to] the Muslim ranks. Here, they are trying to draw out one of the prominent members of the Muslim community; they are trying to bring him in not because they love him, not because they like him, but because they have an agenda. The King of Ghassān, because of his hatred against Rasūlullāhﷺ and the Muslims, that is why he wants to infiltrate the Muslim society and pull out of it Ka’b Ibn Mālik. This is something that they are doing today; they are willing to fund and pump money and just pour it on any Muslims who are going to be sympathetic to their cause. They are willing to sit behind the scenes with Muslims who are willing to promote a watered- down version of Islām. They are willing to sit and put hand in hand with the RAND Muslims who are willing to spread the version of Islām that is appealing to them. And they are willing to spend millions and millions of dollars for that. And Shaitān can come to some people and say, ‘Well, let us take that money and benefit the Da’wah with it, let us take that money and use it to build Masājid or to build schools or to do this or to do that.’ And all of that is deception of Shaitān because they are not going to give anything for free; they are going to take in exchange of what they give, they will definitely take from you something. So how did Ka’b Ibn Mālik respond so that we can learn how to respond? Ka’b Ibn Mālik said, “When I read this I said, ‘This is a trial from Allāh.’ I took it and threw it in the fire.” That is how we should deal with their deals; take that deal and throw it in the fire and do not let such things stay behind. Ka’b Ibn Mālik could have kept this letter as a souvenir, but he did not, he threw it in the fire because it is something dangerous, it is something that has a temptation in it, so get rid of it, do not let it sit behind, just throw it in the fire.

20.8.7 Rasūlullāhﷺ Orders the Three Sahābah to Leave their Wives

Ka’b Ibn Mālik said, “A messenger from Rasūlullāhﷺ came to me after 40 days of the boycott and said, ‘Rasūlullāhﷺ is ordering you to leave your wife.’ I asked, ‘Shall I divorce her?’ He said, ‘No, but stay away from her (meaning he cannot touch her)’. And he sent the same message to my other two companions. So I told my wife, ‘Go and stay with your parents until Allāh judges in this affair.’” Ka’b said, “The wife of Hilāl Ibn Umayyah (one of the three) came to Rasūlullāhﷺ and said, ‘O Messenger of Allāh, Hilāl Ibn Umayyah is a lost old man.’” What does this strike you? Hilāl Ibn Umayyah is an old man who is lost; does that strike you at all? What are we talking about here? We are talking about people who stayed behind from what? These are people who stayed behind from fighting, actual war, battle, and she says that my husband is an old man who is lost. So Subhān’Allāh, here you have an old man who is lost and nevertheless Rasūlullāhﷺ boycotted him and ordered the Muslims to boycott him because Rasūlullāhﷺ considered that this man does not have an excuse, so what excuse do the young, fit, able men have? If Hilāl Ibn Umayyah was not excused, what excuse does anyone else have?

So Rasūlullāhﷺ was asked by this woman, she said, “He is a lost old man, would you allow me to serve him?” He said, “Yes, but do not let him touch you,” meaning he cannot sleep with you. She said, “In the name of Allāh, he has no desire for anything. Since this issue began, he has been weeping until this moment.” Until this day he has been crying, he is not thinking about speaking with his wife. And this also shows us that even though these men stayed behind, their hearts were alive, because the Munāfiq, he stays behind and does not care about it, does not even think about it, he thinks that he has done the right thing, he believes that he has done the wise thing, he thinks that he is intelligent and smart, he did not get himself into trouble; that is how the Munāfiq thinks, but the Believer realises the mistake because his heart is awake, and even though he has committed the mistake, it is burning him deep inside; he has been weeping for 40 days.

[Ka’b continues,] “Some of my family members were saying, ‘Why do you not ask Rasūlullāhﷺ to allow your wife to stay with you just like he allowed the wife of Hilāl Ibn Umayyah?’ I said, ‘No I am not going to do that because I do not know what Rasūlullāh would tell me when I am a young man.’”

20.8.8 Allāh Sends Down Revelation Forgiving the Three Companions

“10 days after that, until we reached a total of 50 days from the time when Rasūlullāhﷺ prevented everyone from speaking to us, when I prayed Salātul Fajr on the morning of the 50th day, I was on the roof of one of my houses. While I was sitting down in the situation that was described by Allāh in Qur’ān that my soul became constrained, and the whole earth became constrained,” – they were feeling that they were constrained, they were feeling the difficulty, they were feeling this thing of the situation – “I heard someone call me from the mountain of Sala’ with the peak of his voice, ‘O Ka’b Ibn Mālik, rejoice!’ I immediately made Sujūd. And I knew that the problem has been solved, and Rasūlullāhﷺ must have been given permission from Allāh that he accepts our Tawbah after Salātul Fajr. So people went out to give us the good news, so some went out to my two companions while two men tried to get the news to me; one of them climbed the mountain while the other one took a horse, but the sound was faster to reach to me than the man on horseback. It was the tradition when someone gives you a good news that you give him a gift, so the one whom I heard from the mountain came to me, so I gave him my two cloaks and I had nothing but them, and then I had to borrow two other pieces of garment to go and meet Rasūlullāhﷺ. So I borrowed two garments and I put them on and I rushed to Rasūlullāhﷺ, and then people were meeting me in groups, all greeting me and congratulating me with the Tawbah of Allāh.”

And then he went into the Masjid and then Ka’b Ibn Mālik says, “When I went to Rasūlullāhﷺ and gave him Salām, Rasūlullāhﷺ told me while his face was beaming with happiness, ‘Rejoice with the best day ever since your mother gave birth to you.’” Rasūlullāhﷺ is telling Ka’b Ibn Mālik [that] today is the best day for you since the day you were born. He asked, “Is this from you or from Allāh, O Rasūlullāh?” He said, “No, this is from Allāh,” meaning this came down from Allāh. “When Rasūlullāhﷺ was happy, his face would be like the moon.” So Subhān’Allāh, you can see how happy Rasūlullāhﷺ was because of the acceptance [of] the Tawbah of Ka’b Ibn Mālik and his two companions. “And then I told Rasūlullāhﷺ, ‘Part of my repentance would be that I give away all of my money [as] Sadaqah for Allāh and for the Messenger of Allāh.’ Rasūlullāhﷺ said, ‘Leave behind some of your wealth, it is better for you.’ So I said, ‘I will hold on to my share of the Battle of Khaibar.’” He said, “O Messenger of Allāh, Allāh has saved me because of my honesty, because of speaking the truth, and part of my repentance is I promise that I will only speak the truth as long as I live.” And when Ka’b was narrating this Hadīth he said, “And I have been blessed by Allāh that since that time I have not spoken any word but the truth.”

Dear brothers and sisters, Allāh has revealed the following two Āyāt of Sūrah At-Tawbah, the second Āyah is about Ka’b and his two companions: Allāh has already forgiven the Prophet and the Muhājirīn and the Ansār who followed him in the hour of difficulty after the hearts of a party of them had almost inclined [to doubt], and then He forgave them. Indeed, He was to them Kind and Merciful. At-Tawbah: 117

We talked about this Āyah before, that it represents the peak of the Muslim community, and towards the end of the life of Rasūlullāhﷺ Allāh is accepting their Tawbah. And then Allāh  says: And [He also forgave] the three who were left behind [and regretted their error] to the point that the earth closed in on them in spite of its vastness and their souls confined them and they were certain that there is no refuge from Allāh except in Him… Look at the description, ya’nī their souls confined them; it was like they were prisoners even though they were free. Allāh says: …Then He turned to them so they could repent. Indeed, Allāh is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful. At-Tawbah: 118

SoAllāh has accepted the Tawbah of Ka’b Ibn Mālik and his two companions, while let us see what Allāh said about the ones who gave convincing excuses and lied, Allāh says about them: They will swear by Allāh to you when you return to them that you would leave them alone. So leave them alone; indeed they are evil; and their refuge is Hell as recompense for what they had been earning. They swear to you so that you might be satisfied with them. But if you should be satisfied with them – indeed, Allāh is not satisfied with a defiantly disobedient people. At-Tawbah: 95-96

Youcan see the consequences of truth and the consequences of lying.

20.8.9 Benefits Mentioned by Ibn Al-Qayyim

We will close with some benefits [from the Hadīth of Ka’b Ibn Mālik] mentioned by Ibn Al-Qayyim in his book Zād Al-Ma‘ād.

One is Allowed to Speak about his Shortcomings: He says, “It is allowed for a person to speak about his shortcomings.” Because we know in Islām you are not supposed to speak about your sins as long as Allāh has given you Sitr; as long as they are concealed, you should keep them concealed. However here we see that Ka’b Ibn Mālik spoke about some of his shortcomings; why? Because there is a benefit in that, because they were known, and there is a benefit, there are lessons to be learned, so he spoke about it and he was honest about it in this narration.

One is Allowed to Speak Good things about themselves: Second: “It is allowed for a person to praise himself or speak about some good things about himself.” However this is restricted, this is not open-ended, because we know that a person is not supposed to praise themselves or speak about their good, however we see here that Ka’b Ibn Mālik did speak about some of the good that he had done, for example when he mentioned that he had been in every battle of Rasūlullāhﷺ with the exception of Badr and that he attended Bay‘atul ‘Aqabah, but Ibn Al-Qayyim says, “It is allowed as long as it is not done out of pride and elevating status of one’s self. The Pledge of Al-‘Aqabah is one of the best events of the Sahābah,” because he used to see it equal to Badr.

Hasten and Take Advantage of Good Opportunities that Open Up: This is one of the most important lesson that Ibn Al-Qayyim mentions; “Hasten and take advantage of opportunities of good that open up for you.” Brothers and sisters, Allāh, at some moments of your life, would open up for you doors of opportunity to do good; these doors of opportunity come and go, and sometimes if they go they go for good, and if you do not take advantage of them you miss them forever. Ka’b Ibn Mālik had an opportunity that opened up for him to participate in Tabūk and he missed it, so one of the important lessons is this, because he says, “Yā Laytanī Fa‘alt! – I wish that I had done so!” Do not sit behind and then say I wish I had done so; take advantage of the good that comes to you from Allāh. And sometimes if you reject these opportunities, the consequences could be very bad. Allāh says: Yā Ayyuhalladhīna Āmanustajībū Lillāhi Wa Lirrasūli Idhā Da‘ākum Limā Yuhyīkum. Wa’lamū Annallāha Yahūlu Baynal Mar’i Wa Qalbih – O you who have believed, respond to Allāh and to theMessenger when he calls you to that which gives you life. And know that Allāh intervenes between a man and his heart… Al-Anfāl: 24

Allāh may intervene between you and your heart and prevent you from joining the next time. Do not delay, do not stay behind; take advantage of the opportunities that open up for you. And Allāh says: And We will turn away their hearts and their eyes just as they refused to believe in it the first time. Al-Anfāl: 110

The first time they refused, [therefore] Allāh is turning away their hearts and their eyes. Subhān’Allāh, we need to be very careful. And Allāh says: And when they deviated… an opportunity of truth opened up and they deviated …Allāh caused their hearts to deviate. As-Saff: 5. And Allāh says: And Allāh would not let a people stray after He has guided them until He makes clear to them what they should avoid. Indeed, Allāh is Knowing of all things. At-Tawbah: 115

 SoAllāh makes clear to them what they should avoid. They were given the opportunity of good, they turned away from it, and then Allāh would lead them astray.

It is a Sign of Nifāq Not to Participate in Fighting Fee Sabeelillāh: In the next lesson Ibn Al-Qayyim says, “The only ones who stayed behind are the Munāfiqīn, or the ones who are excused, or the ones who are appointed to stay behind by Rasūlullāhﷺ.” So it is a sign of Nifāq not to participate in fighting Fee Sabeelillāh.

One is Allowed to Speak against a Person for the Sake of Defending the Religion: “It is allowed to speak against a person if it is out of Ijtihād for the sake of defending Allāh and His Messenger.” And this is what the scholars of Hadīth used to do when they would speak about some of the narrators, it is because they want to protect the Religion of Allāh, protect the Ahādīth of Rasūlullāhﷺ. So when the man of Banū Salamah spoke against Ka’b Ibn Mālik, that was the intention. And it is also allowed to respond back when you think that a person is good, like Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal did.

We Judge According to what is Apparent: “Al-Hukm Biz-Zāhir – We judge according to what is apparent.”

It is Allowed to Refuse Answering Back to Salām for a Person who has Committed Hadath: “It is allowed to refuse to answer back to Salām for a person who has committed Hadath.” If a person has done a Bid‘ah or a great sin and you are refusing to answer back the Salām in order to reprimand the person as a Nasīhah for them, then it is allowed because the Muslims and Rasūlullāh were not responding back to the Salām of Ka’b Ibn Mālik. Now, this should not be carried too far; whenever you have a disagreement with a person you start finding out what mistakes they did and then you use that as a scapegoat to not speak to the person and not giving Salām; obviously there are some rules and regulations that govern this.

Allāh has Guided Ka’b and his Two Companions: “Allāh has guided Ka’b and his two companions,” and that was because of their truth.

It is Allowed to Boycott a Person if it is Done as Nasīhah: “It is allowed to boycott a person if it is done as a Nasīhah,” as an advice for them to leave a particular sin or a particular Bid‘ah.

Pain is a Sign that the Heart is Alive: “When you feel pain in your heart and when you feel forsaken, that is a sign of a heart that is alive.” However, a person who is a Munāfiq, he does not feel that. Ka’b Ibn Mālik and his companions felt the effect of the boycott and they felt difference in the way people were treating them, but with the Munāfiq they do not care, it does not matter to them.

One May Enter the House of a Friend without his Permission: “You can enter the house of your friend without his permission as long as you know that he does not mind that,” because Ka’b Ibn Mālik climbed the wall and entered the house of Abū Qatādah. Obviously this is if you are not going to end up seeing something that is Harām. When Ka’b entered into the house of Abū Qatādah, obviously there would not be any women without their Hijāb or something, so [here] we are talking about, for example, your friend is a bachelor and you know that he would not mind you entering into his house, then you could do so.

Sujūd Ash-Shukr was a Habit of the Sahābah: “It was the habit of the Sahābah to make Sujūd Ash-Shukr – Sujūd of Thanks when they would receive a good news.” It is something that you are allowed to do when you receive good news, to make Sujūd to Allāh.

Destroy things that are Harmful to your Religion: “Destroy the things that you believe are going to harm you in your Religion,” and this is because Ka’b Ibn Mālik destroyed the letter that he received from the King of Ghassān.

The Day of your Repentance is your Best Day: Yawmu Tawbatil Muslim Khairul Ayyām –The day of your repentance is your best day.

Rasūlullāh’sﷺ Care for the Ummah: “The happiness and the pleasure that Rasūlullāhﷺ had when he knew that Allāh has forgiven the ones who stayed behind.” And this shows you the care that Rasūlullāhﷺ had for the Ummah.

It is Good to Give Sadaqah when you Repent: “When you make repentance, it is good to give out Sadaqah Fee Sabeelillāh.” So when you repent from a sin, give out Sadaqah. sAnd then he finally closes with the virtues of truth and the virtues of Tawbah. This is the end of the great and wonderful story of Ka’b Ibn Mālik. I would suggest that you go back to Al-Bukhārī and read the Hadīth again and think about it and think about its implications. We ask Allāh to guide us to the truth and to show us the truth and to make us of the ones who follow it.

20.9 The End of ‘Abdullāh Ibn Ubaÿ the Hypocrite

After a life of hypocrisy, of plotting and planning against Rasūlullāhﷺ, ‘Abdullāh Ibn Ubaÿ was laying down on his deathbed. Rasūlullāhﷺ visited him, and this is according to Muhammad Ibn Is’hāq, and when Rasūlullāhﷺ saw in his face the signs of death, he told him, “ Amā Wallāhi Inkuntu La’anhāka ‘An Hubbi Yahūd –In the name of Allāh, Iused to warn you from loving the Jews.” So ‘Abdullāh Ibn Ubaÿ said, “Qad Abghadahum As‘ad Bin Zurārah Famā? –As‘ad Bin Zurārah despised them and what did that do for him?” So until his last moments ‘Abdullāh Ibn Ubaÿ was still having split loyalties, and this shows us an important sign of the Hypocrites and that is that they have loyalty to the Kuffār, and they have loyalty to the Christians and the Jews, and this is a sign that has repeated itself in Qur’ān more than once; Fataralladhīna Fī Qulūbihim Maraduy Yusāri‘ūna Fīhim – So you see those in whose hearts is disease hastening into [association with] them Al-Mā’idah: 52. These are the Munāfiqīn who are hastening towards the Disbelievers. So the Munāfiqīn cannot get this love of the Kuffār out of their hearts.

In Sahīh Al-Bukhārī, when ‘Abdullāh Ibn Ubaÿ passed away, Rasūlullāh wanted to pray on his Janāzah, so ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb came and stood in front of Rasūlullāhﷺ and told him, “Yā Rasūlullāh, Tusalli ‘Alaihi Wa Qad Qāla Fī Yawmi Kadhā Wa Khadhā Wa Qāla Fī Yawmi Kadhā Wa Kadhā Wa Kadhā? – ORasūlullāh, are you going to pray on him when he said on such and such day this and that and he said on this day this and that?” ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb is going through the past of ‘Abdullāh Ibn Ubaÿ, he is reminding Rasūlullāhﷺ with the positions that ‘Abdullāh Ibn Ubaÿ was taking. Rasūlullāhﷺ responded back and said, “O ‘Umar, leave me alone. If I know that if I ask Allāh to forgive him more than 70 times [and] it would be accepted, I would do that.” Rasūlullāhﷺ is referring to the Āyah: Ask forgiveness for them, [O Muhammad], or do not ask forgiveness for them. If you should ask forgiveness for them seventy times – never will Allāh forgive them. That is because they disbelieved in Allāh and His Messenger, and Allāh does not guide the defiantly disobedient people. At-Tawbah: 80

Sohere you see in the Āyah [that] Allāh is saying 70times. Rasūlullāhﷺ said [that] if I know that if I do more than 70 [and] Allāh would forgive him then I would do so.

Dear brothers and sisters, this shows us a quality in Rasūlullāhﷺ that is striking. Rasūlullāhﷺ has suffered personally again and again from ‘Abdullāh Ibn Ubaÿ, directly and indirectly; the plots and the plans and the deception and the lies of ‘Abdullāh Ibn Ubaÿ are countless, nevertheless Rasūlullāhﷺ is still willing to give him a last chance and to pray on his Janāzah and to ask Allāh to forgive him; it shows you how Rasūlullāhﷺ was willing to go out of his way to give his followers another opportunity. But then Allāh revealed the Āyah, Allāh says: And do not pray [the funeral Prayer, O Muhammad], over any of them who has died – ever – or stand at his grave. Indeed, they disbelieved in Allāh and His Messenger and died while they were defiantly disobedient. At-Tawbah: 84

Sonow the issue is clarified that no Salāh should be offered on the Munāfiqīn and this is the final Hukm – the final judgement on the issue, and this is one of the incidents in which the Qur’ān supported the opinion of ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb. It is Hikmah of Allāh that ‘Abdullāh Ibn Ubaÿ would not survive Muhammadﷺ and would actually die before him, because ‘Abdullāh Ibn Ubaÿ was living with hope, with aspirations, that by being patient and by not facing the Muslims directly like the Kuffār are doing but by choosing the path of Nifāq, he would be able to withstand and go through what he perceives as a temporary phase, and that in the end he and his people and his ideas would survive. That is the thinking that they used to have, that by sitting tight and by waiting they have a chance, and that this Islām thing is a temporary thing, it is a phase that is going to come and go and people are going to get back to normal. And he was living with these hopes especially [because] he felt that it was Muhammadﷺ who stripped him of his power and his authority, because as it says in the books of Seerah, his people were planning to appoint him as king over them, and that is when Rasūlullāhﷺ made Hijrah and his plans were shattered. So ‘Abdullāh Ibn Ubaÿ ended up dying before Rasūlullāhﷺ and the religion of Islām survived, and the way of the Munāfiqīn is a way that dies and they face Allāh  on the Day of Judgement and have to face His wrath.

20.10 Rasūlullāhﷺ Appoints Abū Bakr to Lead the Delegation of Hajj

Rasūlullāhﷺ appointed Abū Bakr As-Siddīq in the ninth year of Hijrah to make Hajj, so Abū Bakr was to lead the delegation of Hajj, not Rasūlullāhﷺ. Rasūlullāhﷺ did not want to make Hajj while the false gods are lining up around Al-Ka’bah; obviously the idols themselves were already destroyed, but the followers are still coming, because Shirk was still surviving in some parts of Arabia. Plus, they also had the tradition of doing Tawāf naked; they used to believe that because of their sins, because of their impurity, they could not come with these clothes on, so they would take off their clothes and then borrow some clothes from the people of Quraish – they used to view them as being special, Al-Hums – so they would borrow clothes from them. But some people were not in the position of borrowing, they do not have any money, they do not have any status to borrow, so they would end up making Tawāf naked. So you had the dual problem of having Mushrikīn and having naked people go around Al-Ka’bah. So Rasūlullāh did not want to attend Al-Hajj while this Munkar – evil, was going on. So Abū Bakr As-Siddīq led the Muslims in Hajj; it says that the Sahābah who went with him to make Hajj were a few hundred.

And after he left, Rasūlullāhﷺ received the first parts of Sūrah At-Tawbah, so Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted to send these Āyāt to Makkah so that the people would hear them. So they asked, “Shall we send them to Abū Bakr As-Siddīq?” Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “No, only a man from my household should convey these announcements from me,” and he called ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib and he told him, “Go with these verses from Sūrah Barā’ah and declare them to the people when they are gathering in Minā, and tell them that no Disbeliever shall enter into Paradise, and no Polytheist shall make Hajj after this year, and no naked person shall do Tawāf around the House of Allāh. And whoever has a contract of security from Rasūlullāhﷺ, then his contract will be fulfilled until the end of its duration.” And then he had to read the Āyāt of Sūrah At-Tawbah, we will just read the first five Āyāt:

[This is a declaration of] disassociation, from Allāh and His Messenger, to those with whom you had made a treaty among the Polytheists. Notice that the Sūrah of Barā’ah, which is At-Tawbah, is the only Sūrah in Qur’ān that does not start with Bismillāhi Ar-Rahmān Ar-Rahīm. Bismillāhi Ar-Rahmān Ar-Rahīm includes the name of Allāh the Merciful, and this is a straight-forward declaration of disassociation from the Kuffār and therefore it does not start with Bismillāhi Ar-Rahmān Ar-Rahīm, it starts with Barā’ah – Disassociation; that is the first word in this Sūrah; disavowal, disassociation, being free from them.

[This is a declaration of] disassociation, from Allāh and His Messenger, to those with whom you had made a treaty among the Polytheists. So travel freely, [O Disbelievers], throughout the land [during] four months but know that you cannot cause failure to Allāh and that Allāh will disgrace the Disbelievers. (Sothey were given four months.) And [it is] an announcement from Allāh and His Messenger to the people on the day of the greater Pilgrimage that Allāh is disassociated from the Disbelievers, and [so is] His Messenger. So if you repent, that is best for you; but if you turn away – then know that you will not cause failure to Allāh. And give tidings to those who disbelieve of a painful punishment. Excepted are those with whom you made a treaty among the Polytheists and then they have not been deficient toward you in anything or supported anyone against you; so complete for them their treaty until their term [has ended]. Indeed, Allāh loves the righteous [who fear Him]. And when the Sacred Months have passed, then kill the Polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish Prayer, and give Zakāh, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful. At-Tawbah: 1-5

These are the Āyāt, and more, that ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib announced to the Disbelievers in the Hajj of the ninth year of Hijrah, and it is the last year in which the Mushrikīn are going to make Hajj and it is the last year when the traditions and rituals of Disbelief are going to be shown in Makkah.