 |
| 70 Sahabah Syahid in this tragedy |
In the tragedy of Bi’r Ma’oona,
seventy Sahabah were made shahid. All of them were Hafiz of the
Qur’aan. Their Jama’at was called the Jama’at (Group) of Quraa
and consisted mostly of the Ansaar. Nabi SAW loved them very much
for they engaged themselves in Zikr and recitation of the Quran during the night. During the day they
remained in the service of Nabi SAW and his family. A person by the
name of Amir bin Malik and known as Abu Bara, belonging to Bani Amir
clan of Najd, came to Nabi SAW and took this Jama’at with him for
the Tabligh (preaching) and the Ta’leem (teaching) of his clan.
Nabi SAW expressed his concern saying: “I fear some harm may come
to my Sahabah .”
However the person guaranteed him that
he was personally responsible for their safety. After much
hesitation, Nabi SAW agreed to send the Jama’at of seventy Sahabah
with him. He also gave them a message for ‘Amir bin Tufail (the
head of the clan), inviting him to Islam. The Jama’at of Sahabah
camped at Bi’r Ma’oona.‘Umar bin Umayyah RA and Munzir bin ‘Umar RA took the camels for grazing and Haram RA with two companions went to deliver Nabi’s SAW message to ‘Amir
bin Tufail. On reaching near his place, Haraam RA said to his
companions: “You both stay here while I shall go to him alone. If I
am safe, you may also come after me, but if I am betrayed then you
may return from here, as the loss of one is better than the loss of
three.”
‘Amir bin Tufail was the nephew of
‘Amir bin Malik, who had brought the Jama’at. He was a bitter
enemy of Islam and hated the Muslims to the core. When Haraam RA delivered Nabi’s SAW message to him, he did not even care to read
it and attacked Haraam RA with his spear, which pierced through
the latter’s body. Haraam uttered “By the Lord of the
Ka`bah, I am successful,” and died.
The heartless person had no
consideration for the guarantee given by his uncle, or for the
accepted tradition all over the world, that nobody will kill the
envoy (messenger). He then called the people of his clan and
encouraged them to kill all the Sahabah camping at Bi’r Ma’oona.
The people hesitated due to the guarantee given by ‘Amir bin Malik.
He collected a large number of people from the neighbouring tribes
and attacked the Muslims. They murdered each one of them except Ka’b bin Zaid RA , who had some life left in him and the enemy
left him as dead. While grazing the camels, Munzir RA and Umar RA noticed vultures flying in the air. They exclaimed,
“Something foul has happened,” and returned to the camp.
They saw from some distance that their
companions were dead and the murderers were standing around their
bodies with bloody swords in their hands. They stopped a while to
think of what they might do. ‘Umar said: “Let us go back
to Madinah and inform Nabi SAW.” Munzir did not agree. He
said: “Nabi SAW will get the information sooner or later. I do not
like to miss martyrdom and run away from the place where our
companions are lying in their peaceful sleep. Let us go forward and
meet them.”
They both went and jumped into the
thick of battle. Munzir RA was killed and ‘Umar RA was
captured. As ‘Amir’s mother had to set free a slave in connection
with some vow that she had made, ‘Amir set ‘Umar RA free and
let him go. ‘Amir bin Fuhairah , a slave of Abu Bakr , was also
among those who were killed at Bi’r Ma’oona. Jabbar bin Salmi,
who killed him, says: “When I stabbed my spear through him, he said
‘By Allah, I have been successful and to my surprise I saw his body
lifted upwards towards the sky. I made enquiries later on as to what
was the success that ‘Amir bin Fuhairah meant when he uttered, ‘By
Allah, I have been successful.’ I was told that it was that of
entering into Jannat.
This made me embrace Islam.” These
are the outstanding people, of whom Islam is proud. Death had really more attraction for
them than wine for their enemies. They felt most successful at the
time of their death as they carried out deeds which were sure to win
Allah’s pleasure.
History of this tragedy
The tragedy of Bir Maunah
In 625 C.E., one of the chiefs of the tribe of Kilab, Abu Bara Aamir requested the Holy Prophet to send Muslim missionaries to propagate Islam among the tribe. The Holy Prophet sent seventy Muslim missionaries with the chief. The party halted at a place Bir Maunah, and sent a Muslim, Haram b Mathan, along with the letter of the Holy Prophet to Aamir b Tufail, the principal chief of the tribe of Kilab. Aamir b Tufail killed Haram, and marched with an army to Bir Maunah. He assassinated all the Muslim missionaries except one, Amr b. Umayyah by name. Aamir b Tufail released Amr b Umayyah according to his mother's vow to free a slave. On his way back to Madina, Amr b Umayyah killed two persons belonging to the tribe of Banu Amar considering them to be enemies. As a matter of fact, the Holy Prophet had given the tribe amnesty. When the case was brought to the notice of Holy Prophet, he agreed to pay indemnity to the tribe for its murdered persons.
- See more at: http://www.alim.org/library/biography/khalifa/content/KAL/14/2#sthash.Xsfn7rRb.dpuf
