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IN
THE NAME OF ALLAH THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE MOST MERCIFUL
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Abbad
ibn Bishr |
It
was the fourth year after the Hijrah. The city of the Prophet
was still under threat from within and without. From within.
the influential Jewish tribe. the Banu anNadir. broke
their agreement with the Prophet and made plans to kill him.
For this, they were banished from the city. This was in the
month of Safar.
Two
months of uneasy quiet passed. Then the Prophet received
news that tribes from distant Najd were planning an attack.
To pre-empt them. the Prophet gathered a force of
over four hundred men. and leaving one of his companions
Uthman ibn Allan. in charge of the city, set out eastwards.
Among this force was the young Madinan, Abbad ibn
Bishr.
Arriving
at Najd, the Prophet found the habitations of the hostile
tribes strangely deserted of men. Only women were about.
The men had taken to the hills. Some of them regrouped
and prepared to fight. The time of Salat al-Asr (the afternoon
prayer) came. The Prophet feared that the hostile tribesmen
would attack them during prayer. He arranged the Muslims
in ranks and divided them into two groups and performed
the prayer as the Salat al-Khawf (the Prayer of Fear). With
one group he performed one rakah while the other group
stood on guard. For the second rakah the groups changed
places. Each group completed its prayer with one rakah after
the Prophet had finished...
On beholding the disciplined ranks of the Muslims the hostile
tribesmen became uneasy and afraid. The Prophet had made his
presence felt and something of his mission was now known
at first hand in the central highlands of Arabia whence he
departed peacefully.
On the way back, the Prophet pitched camp in a valley for
a night. As soon as the Muslims had settled their camel mounts,
the Prophet peace be on him, asked: "Who will be our
guard tonight?" "We, O Messenger of God," said Abbad ibn Bishr
and Ammar ibn Yasir both of whom had been paired off as 'brothers'
by the Prophet when he arrived in Madinah after the
Hijrah.
Abbad
and Ammar left for the mouth of the valley to take up duty.
Abbad saw that his "brother" was tired and asked him: "What
part of the night do you wish to sleep, the first or
the second?" "I shall sleep during the first part," said Ammar
who was soon fast asleep quite close to Abbad.
The night was clear, calm and peaceful. The stars, the trees,
and the rocks all appeared to celebrate in silence the praises
of their Lord. Abbad felt serene. There was no movement,
no threatening sign. Why not spend the time in ibadah (worship)
and reciting the Quran? How delightful it would be to combine
the performance of Salat with the measured recitation
of the Quran which he so much enjoyed.
In fact Abbad was enthralled by the Quran from the moment
he first heard it being recited by the mellow and beautiful
voice of Musab ibn Umayr. That was before the Hijrah
when Abbad was just about fifteen years old. The Quran had
found a special place in his heart and day and night thereafter
he would be heard repeating the glorious words of God
so much so that he became known among the Prophet's companions
as the "friend of the Quran".
Late at night, the Prophet once stood up to perform the Tahajjud
Prayer in Aishah's house which adjoined the masjid. He heard
a voice reciting the Quran, pure and sweet and as fresh
as when the angel Jibril revealed the words to him. He asked:
"Aishah, is that the voice of Abbad ibn Bishr?" "Yes, O Messenger
of God," replied Aishah. "O Lord, forgive him," prayed
the Prophet out of love for him.
And so in the stillness of the night, at the mouth of the
valley in Najd, Abbad stood up and faced the Qiblah. Raising
his hand in surrender to God, he entered into the state
of Prayer. Finishing the compulsory opening chapter of the
Quran, he began reciting Surah al-Kahf in his sweet, captivating
voice. Surah al-Kahf is a long Surah of one hundred
and ten verses which deals in part with the virtues of faith,
truth and patience and with the relativity of time.
While he was thus absorbed in reciting and reflecting upon
the divine words, eternal words of illumination and wisdom,
a stranger stalked the outskirts of the valley in search
of Muhammad and his followers. He was one of those who had
planned to attack the Prophet but who had fled into the mountains
on the approach of the MusIims. His wife whom he had
left in the village had been taken as a hostage by one of
the Muslims. When he eventually found that his wife was gone,
he swore by al-Lat and al-Uzzah that he would pursue
Muhammad and his companions and that he would not return unless
he had drawn blood.
From a distance, the man saw the figure of Abbad silhouetted
at the mouth of the valley and he knew that the Prophet and
his followers must be inside the valley. Silently he
drew his bow and let fly an arrow. Unerringly it embedded
itself in Abbad's flesh.
Calmly,
Abbad pulled out the arrow from his body and went on with
his recitation, still absorbed in his Salat. The attacker
shot a second and a third arrow both of which also found
their mark. Abbad pulled out one and then the other. He finished
his recitation, made ruku and then sujud. Weak and in pain,
he stretched out his right hand while still in prostration
and shook his sleeping companion. Ammar awoke. Silently, Abbad
continued the Salat to its end and then said: "Get up and
stand guard in my place. I have been wounded."
Ammar jumped up and began to yell. Seeing them both the attacker
fled into the darkness. Ammar turned to Abbad as he lay on
the ground, blood flowing from his wounds.
"Ya Subhanallah (Glory be to God)! Why didn't you wake me
when you were hit by the first arrow?" "I was in the midst
of reciting verses of the Quran which filled my soul
with awe and I did not want to cut short the recitation. The
Prophet had commanded me to commit this surah to memory. Death
would have been dearer to me than that the recitation
of this surah should be interrupted."
Abbad's
devotion to the Quran was a sign of his intense devotion to
and love for God, His Prophet and His religion. The qualities
he was known for were his constant immersion in ibadah,
his heroic courage and his generosity in the path of God.
At times of sacrifice and death, he would always be in the
front line. When it was time for receiving his share
of rewards, he would only be found after much effort and difficulty.
He was always trustworthy in his dealings with the wealth
of Muslims. Ali this was recognized. Aishah, the wife
of the Prophet, once said: "There are three persons among
the Ansar whom no one could excel in virtue: Sad ibn Muadh,
Usayd ibn Khudayr and Abbad ibn Bishr."
Abbad died the death of a shahid (martyr) at the battle of
Yamamah. Just before the battle he had a strong presentiment
of death and martyrdom. He noticed that there was a
lack of mutual confidence among the Muhajirin and Ansar. He
was grieved and upset. He realized that there would be no
success for the Muslims in these terrible battles unless
the Muhajirin and Ansar were grouped in separate regiments
so that it could be clearly seen who really bore their responsibility
and who were truly steadfast in combat.
At the break of day when the battle commenced, Abbad ibn Bishr
stood on a mound and shouted:
"O Ansar, distinguish yourselves among men. Destroy your scabbards.
And do not forsake Islam."
Abbad harangued the Ansar until about four hundred men gathered
around him at the head of whom were Thabit ibn Qays, al-Baraa
ibn Malik and Abu Dujanah, the keeper of the Prophet's
sword. With this force, Abbad unleashed an offensive into
the enemy's ranks which blunted their thrust and drove them
back to the "garden of death".
At
the walls of this garden, Abbad ibn Bishr fell. So numerous
were his wounds, he was hardly recognizable. He had lived,
fought and died as a believer.
w w
w . i s l a m i s k a . o r g
2002-07-02
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