HABIB IBN ZAYD AL-ANSARI
He grew up in a home filled with the fragrance of
iman, and in a family where everyone was imbued with
the spirit of sacrifice. Habib's father, Zayd ibn
Asim, was one of the first persons in Yathrib to
accept Islam and his mother, the celebrated Nusaybah
bint Kab known as Umm Ammarah, was the first woman to
bear arms in defence of Islam and in support of the
blessed Prophet.
Habib, still at a tender age, was privileged to go
with his mother, father, maternal aunt and brother to
Makkah with the pioneering group of seventy five who
pledged fealty to the Prophet at Aqabah and played a
decisive role in shaping the early history o f Islam.
At Aqabah, in the darkness of the night, the young
Habib stretched out his small hand and pledged loyalty
to the Prophet. From that day, the Prophet, peace and
blessings of God on him, became dearer to Habib than
his own mother or father and Islam became more
important to him than any care for his personal
safety.
Habib did not participate in the Battle of Badr
because he was too young. Neither did he have the
opportunity to take part in the battle of Uhud because
he was still considered too young to bear arms.
Thereafter, however, he took part in all the engagemen
ts which the Prophet fought and in all he
distinguished himself by his bravery and willingness
to sacrifice. Although each of these battles had its
own importance and was demanding in its own way, they
served to prepare Habib for what was to prove the most
terrible encounter of his life, the violence of which
is profoundly soul-shaking.
Let us follow this awesome story from the beginning.
By the ninth year after the Hijrah, Islam had spread
widely and had become the dominant force in the
Arabian peninsula. Delegations of tribes from all over
the land converged on Makkah to meet the Messenger of
God, peace be upon him, and announce before him, their
acceptance of Islam.
Among these delegations was one from the highlands of
Najd, from the Banu Hanilab. At the outskirts of
Makkah, the members of the delegation tethered their
mounts and appointed Musaylamah ibn Habib as their
spokesman and representative. Musaylamah went to the
Prophet, peace be upon him. and announced his people's
acceptance of Islam. The Prophet welcomed them and
treated them most generously. Each, including
Musaylamah, was presented with a gift.
On his return to Najd the ambitious and self-seeking
Musaylamah recanted and gave up his allegiance to the
Prophet. He stood among the people and proclaimed that
a prophet had been sent by God to the Banu Hanifah
just as God had sent Muhammad ibn Abdullah to the
Quraysh.
For various reasons and under a variety of pressures,
the Banu Hanilab began to rally around him. Most
followed him out of tribal loyalty or asabiyyah.
Indeed one member of the tribe declared: "I testify
that Muhammad is indeed truthful and that Musaylamah
is indeed an imposter. But the imposter of Rabiah (the
tribal confederation to which the Banu Hanilab
belonged) is dearer to me that the genuine and
truthful person from Mudar (the tribal confederation
to which the Quraysh belonged)."
Before long, the number of Musaylamah's followers
increased and he felt powerful, powerful enough to
write the following letter to the Prophet, peace be
upon him: "From Musaylamah, the messenger of God to
Muhammad, the messenger of God. Peace be on you. I am
prepared to share this mission with you. I shall have
(control over) half the land and you shall have the
other half. But the Quraysh are an aggressive people."
Musaylamah despatched two of his men with the letter
to the Prophet. When the letter was read to the
Prophet, he asked the two men: "And what do you
yourselves say about this matter?" "We affirm what the
letter says," they replied. "By God," said the
Prophet, "were it not for the fact that emissaries are
not killed I would have smitten both your necks." He
then wrote to Musaylamah: "In the name of God, the
Beneficent, the Compassionate. From Muhammad the
Messenger of God, to Musaylamah the imposter.
Peace be upon whoever follows the guidance. God will
bequeath the earth to whosoever of His servants He
wishes and the final triumph will be for those who are
careful of their duty to God." He sent the letter with
the two men.
Musaylamah's evil and corrupting influence continued
to spread and the Prophet considered it necessary to
send another letter to him inviting him to abandon his
misguided ways. The Prophet chose Habib ibn Zayd to
take this letter to Musaylamah. Habib was by this time
in the prime of his youth and a firm believer in the
truth of Islam with every fibre of his being.
Habib undertook his mission eagerly and proceeded as
quickly as he could to the highlands of the Najd, the
territory of the Banu Hanilab. He presented the letter
to Musaylamah.
Musaylamah was convulsed with bitter rage. His face
was terrible to behold. He ordered Habib to be put in
chains and to be brought back before him the following
day.
On the following day, Musaylamah presided over his
assembly. On his right and on his left were his senior
advisers, there to further his evil cause. The common
people were allowed to enter. He then ordered Habib,
shackled in his chains, to be brought before him.
Habib stood in the midst of this crowded, hate-filled
gathering. He remained upright, dignified and proud
like a sturdy spear firmly implanted in the ground,
unyielding.
Musaylamah turned to him and asked: "Do you testify
that Muhammad is the Messenger of God?" "Yes," Habib
replied. "I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of
God."
Musaylamah was visibly angry. "And do you testify that
I am the Messenger of God?" He was almost insisting,
rather than questioning. "My ears have been blocked
against hearing what you claim," replied Habib.
Musaylamah's face changed color, his lips trembled in
anger and he shouted to his executioner, "Cut off a
piece of his body."
With sword in hand, the menacing executioner advanced
towards Habib and severed one of his limbs.
Musaylamah then put the same question to him once more
and Habib's answers were the same. He affirmed his
belief in Muhammad as the Messenger of God and at the
expense of his own life he refused to acknowledge the
messengership of any other. Musaylamah thereupon
ordered his henchman to cut off another part of
Habib's body. This fell to the ground beside the other
severed limb. The people looked on in amazement at
Habib's composure and steadfastness.
Faced with Musaylamah's persistent questioning and the
terrible blows of his henchman, Habib kept on
repeating:
"I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of God."
Habib could not survive this torture and these inhuman
atrocities much longer and he soon passed away. On his
pure lips, as his life-blood ebbed away, was the name
of the blessed Prophet to whom he had pledged loyalty
on the night of Aqabah, the name of Muhammad, the
Messenger of God.
News of Habib's fate reached his mother and her
reaction was simply to say: "It was for such a
situation that I prepared him... He pledged allegiance
to the Prophet on the night of Aqabah as a small child
and today as an adult he has given his life for the
Prophet. If God were to allow me to get near to
Musaylamah, I would certainly make his daughters smite
their cheeks and lament over him."
The day that she wished for was not long in coming.
After the death of the Prophet, peace be on him, Abu
Bakr declared war on the imposter. With the Muslim
army that went out to confront the forces of
Musaylamah were Habib's mother, Nusaybah, and another
of her courageous sons, Abdullah ibn Zayd.
At the Battle of Yamamah which ensued, Nusaybah was
seen cutting through the ranks of fighting men like a
lioness and calling out: "Where is the enemy of God?
Show me the enemy of God ?" When she eventually
reached Musaylamah, he had already perished. She
looked at the body of the vain imposter and cruel
tyrant and felt serene. A grave threat to the Muslims
had been removed and the death of her beloved son,
Habib, had been avenged.
At Habib's death, the noble Prophet had commended him
and his entire family and had prayed: "May God bless
this household. May God have mercy on this household."
__________________________________________
Yahoo! DSL Something to write home about.
Just $16.99/mo. or less.
dsl.yahoo.com
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing
http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/TXWolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
***************************************************************************
{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom
(i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue
with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone
astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in
His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites
(men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I
am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if
Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of
camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever
calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who
follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in
any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved
otherwise.
If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily
digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your
mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the
title "change to daily digest".
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islamcity/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
