Thursday

Mus'ab ibn Umair RA - The Great & Good Mus'ab RA,

Musab Ibn Umayr RA:
“As-salaamu alayka yaa Mus’ab... As-salaamu alaykum, ma'shar ash-shudhadaa.
As-salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu.
Peace be on you, O Musab... Peace be on you all, O martyrs. .
 Peace be on you and the mercy and blessings of Allah SWT”.

Musab ibn Umayr was born and grew up in the lap of affluence and luxury. His rich parents lavished a great deal of care and attention on him. He wore the most expensive clothes and the most stylish shoes of his time. Yemeni shoes were then considered to be very elegant and it was his privilege to have the very best of these. As a youth he was admired by the Quraish not only for his good looks and style but for his intelligence. His elegant bearing and keen mind endeared him to the Makkan nobility among whom he moved with ease.
Although still young, he had the privilege of attending Quraish meetings and gatherings. He was thus in a position to know the issues which concerned the Makkans and what their attitudes and strategies were. Among Makkans there was a sudden outburst of excitement and concern as Muhammad, known as al-Amin (the Trustworthy), emerged saying that God had sent him as a bearer of good tidings and as a warner. He warned the Quraish of terrible chastisement if they did not turn to the worship and obedience of God and he spoke of Divine rewards for the righteous. The whole of Makkah buzzed with talk of these claims. The vulnerable Quraish leaders thought of ways of silencing Muhammad. When ridicule and persuasion did not work, they embarked on a campaign of harassment and persecution.

The First Envoy of Islam
Historians and narrators describe Mus'ab ibn 'Umair (son of 'Umair) as the most charming of the Makkans, the most handsome and youthful, the flower of the Quraish! He was born and brought up in wealth, grew up with its luxuries, pampered by his parents, the talk of the ladies of Makkah, the jewel of its clubs and assemblies.

The youth heard one day about Rasulullah SAW  the Truthful sent by Allah as bearer of glad tidings and a warner to call them to the worship of One God. When Makkah slept and awoke, there were no other talk but Rasulullah and his religion and this spoiled boy was one of the most attentive listeners. That was because, although he was young, the outward appearance of wisdom and common sense were among the traits of Mus'ab RA.

He went one night to the house of Al-Arqam Ibn Al-Arqam, yearning and anxious. There, Rasulullah SAW was meeting his Companions, reciting the Quran to them and praying with them to Allah the Most Exalted. Mus'ab RA had hardly taken his seat and contemplated the verses of the Quran recited by Rasulullah SAW when his heart became the promised heart that night. The pleasure almost flung him from his seat as he was filled with a wild ecstasy. But Rasulullah SAW patted his throbbing heart with his blessed right hand, and the silence of the ocean's depth filled his heart. In the twinkling of an eye, the youth who had just become Muslim appeared to have more wisdom than his age and a determination that would change the course of time.

Mus'ab's mother was Khunaas Bint Maalik and people feared her almost to the point of terror because she possessed a strong personality. Mus'ab ibn Umair RA was satisfied with his faith and avoided the anger of his mother who had knowledge of his embracing Islam. He continued to frequent Dar Al-Arqam and take lessons from Rasulullah SAW. The news eventually reached his mother who was astonished by it. His mother aimed a heavy blow on him. However, his mother, under the pressure of her motherliness, spared him the beating and the pain, although it was within her power to avenge her gods whom he had abandoned. Instead, she took him to a rough corner of her house and shut him in it. She put shackles on him and imprisoned him there.
 
Illustration Only: Mus ab ibn Umair standard bearer of Uhud.
Mus'abIbn Umair RA  heard the news of the emigration of some of the believers to Abyssinia and managed to delude his mother and his guards, and so escaped to Abyssinia with his fellow emigrants. Later, he returned to Makkah and emigrated again for the second time under the advice of Rasulullah SAW. Mus'ab RA became confident that his life had been good enough to be offered as a sacrifice to the Supreme Originator and great Creator. He went out one day to some Muslims while they were sitting around Rasulullah SAW, and no sooner did they see him than they lowered their heads and shed some tears because they saw him wearing worn out garments. They were accustomed to his former appearance before he had become a Muslim, when his clothes had been like garden flowers, elegant and fragrant.

Rasulullah SAW,saw him with the eyes of wisdom, thankful and loving, and his lips smiled gracefully as he said, "I saw Mus'ab here, and there was no youth in Makkah more petted by his parents than he. Then he abandoned all that for the love of Allah and His Rasul!"

His mother had withheld from him all the luxury he had been overwhelmed by, when she could not return him to her religion. Her last connection with him was when she tried to imprison him for a second time after his return from Abyssinia, and he swore that if she did that, he would kill all those who came to her aid to lock him up. She knew the truth of his determination when he was intent and decided to do something, and so she bade him goodbye weeping. When she said to him, "Go away, I am no longer your mother," Mus'ab went close to her and said, "O Mother, I am advising you and my heart is with you, please bear witness that there is no God but Allah and that Rasulullah is His servant and messenger." She replied to him, angrily raging, "By the stars, I will never enter your religion, to degrade my status and weaken my senses!"

So Mus'ab RA left the great luxury in which he had been living. He became satisfied with a hard life he had never seen before, wearing the roughest clothes, eating one day and going hungry another. This spirit, which was grounded in the strongest faith, adorned with the light of Allah SWT, made him another man, one who appeals to the eyes of other great souls. While he was in this state, Rasulullah SAW commissioned him with the greatest mission of his life, which was to be his envoy to Al-Madinah. His mission was to instruct the Ansar who believed in Rasulullah and had pledged their allegiance to him at 'Aqabah, to call others to Islam, and to prepare Al-Madinah for the day of the great Hijrah.
 
Mus'ab ibn Umair RA The Great & The Good
There were among the Companions of Rasulullah SAW at that time who older than Mus'ab and more prominent and nearer to Rasulullah SAW by family relations but Rasulullah SAW chose Mus'ab the Good. Mus'ab RA was equal to the task and trust which Allah SWT had given him and he was equipped with an excellent mind and noble character. He won the hearts of the Madinites with his piety, uprightness and sincerity. And so they embraced the religion of Allah in flocks. At the time Rasulullah sent him there, only 12 Muslims had pledged allegiance to Rasulullah SAW. During the next pilgrimage season, a few months after that, the Madinite Muslims sent a delegation of 70 believing men and women to Makkah to meet Rasulullah SAW. They came with their teacher and their Rasul's envoy, Mus'ab Ibn 'Umair RA. Mus'ab RA had proven, by his good sense and excellence, that Rasulullah SAW knew well how to choose his envoys and teachers.

The days and years passed by. Rasulullah SAW  and his Companions emigrated to Al-Madinah, and the Quraish were raging with envy and the Battle of Badr took place, in which they were taught a lesson and lost their strong hold. After that, they prepared themselves for revenge and thus came the Battle of Uhud. Rasulullah SAW chose Mus'ab to bear the standard and he advanced and carried it. The terrible battle was raging, the fighting furious. The archers disregarded the orders of Rasulullah SAW by leaving their positions on the mountain when they saw the polytheists withdrawing as if defeated. But this act of theirs soon turned the victory of the Muslims to defeat. The Muslims were taken at unawares by the cavalry of the Quraish at the mountain top, and many Muslims were killed by the swords of the polytheists as a consequence.

When they saw the confusion and horror splitting the ranks of the Muslims, the polytheists concentrated on Rasulullah SAW to finish him off. Mus'ab RA saw the impending threat, so he raised the standard high, shouting, "Allahu Akbar! Allah is the Greatest!" like the roar of a lion. He turned and jumped left and right, fighting and killing the foe.

All he wanted was to draw the attention of the enemy to himself in order to turn their attention away from Rasulullah SAW. He thus became as a whole army in himself. Nay, Mus'ab RA went alone to fight as if he were an army of giants raising the standard in sanctity with one hand, striking with his sword with the other. But the enemies were multiplying on him. They wanted to step on his corpse so that they could find the Prophet.
The Sacrifice of Mus'ab ibn Umair RA

Let us allow a living witness to describe for us the last scene of Mus'ab the Great. Ibn Sa'd said:
Ibrahim ibn Muhammad RA related from his father, who said:
Mus'ab Ibn 'Umair RA carried the standard on the Day of Uhud. When the Muslims were scattered, he stood fast until he met Ibn  Quma'ah who was a knight. He struck him on his right hand and cut it off, but Mus'ab RA said, "And Muhammad is but a Messenger. Messengers have passed away before him" He carried the standard with his left hand and leaned on it. He struck his left hand and cut it off, and so he leaned on the standard and held it with his upper arms to his chest, all the while saying, "And Muhammad is but a Messenger. Messengers have passed away before him". Then a third one struck him with his spear and the spear went through him.

Mus'ab RA fell and then the standard. Nay, the cream of martyrdom had fallen! He fell after he had struggled for the sake of Allah in the great battle of sacrifice and faith. He had thought that if he fell, he would be a stepping stone to the death of Rasulullah SAW because he would be without defense and protection. But he put himself in harm's way for the sake of Rasulullah SAW. Overpowered by his fear for and love of him, he continued to say with every sword stroke that fell on him from the foe, "And Muhammad is but a Messenger. Messengers have passed away before him" This verse was revealed later, after he had spoken it.

After the bitter battle, they found the corpse of the upright martyr lying with his face in the dust, as if he feared to look while harm fell to Rasulullah SAW. So he hid his face so that he would avoid the scene. Or perhaps, he was shy when he fell as a martyr, before making sure of the safety of Rasul of Allah, and before serving to the very end, guarding and protecting him. Rasulullah SAW and his Companions came to inspect the scene of the battle and bid farewell to the martyrs. Pausing at Mus'ab's body, many tears dripped from Rasulullah’s  eyes.
 

Khabbab ibn Al-Arat RA narrated: We emigrated with the Rasul of Allah's for cause, so our reward became due with Allah SWT. Some of us passed away without enjoying anything in this life of his reward, and of them was Mus'ab ibn 'Umair RA, who was martyred on the Day of Uhud. He did not leave behind anything except a sheet of shredded woolen cloth. If we covered his feet with it, his head was uncovered, and if we covered his feet with it, his head was uncovered. Rasulullah SAW  said to us, "Cover his head with it and put lemon grass over his feet."

Rasulullah SAW stood at the remains of Mus'ab ibn 'Umair RA saying, while his eyes were flowing with tears, love and loyalty, "Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah" (33:23)
Then he gave a sad look at the garment in which he was shrouded and said, "I saw you at Makkah, and there was not a more precious jewel, nor more distinguished one than you, and here you are bare-headed in a garment!"
Then Rasulullah SAW looked at all the martyrs in the battlefield and said, "The Rasul of  Allah witnesses that you are martyrs to Allah SWT on the Day of Resurrection."
Then he gathered his living Companions around him and said, "O people, visit them, come to them, and salute them. By Allah, no Muslim will salute them but that they will salute him in return."
Peace be on you, O Mus'ab. Peace be on you, O Martyrs. Peace and blessings of Allah be upon you!
(Adapted from "Men around the Messenger" by Khalid Muhammed Khalid)

Another version about the Great Mus’ab ibn Umair RA.
Musab learnt that Rasulullah  and those who believed in his message were gathering in a house near the hill of as-Safa to evade Quraish harassment. This was the house of al-Arqam. To satisfy his curiosity, Musab proceeded to the house undeterred by the know ledge of Quraish hostility. There he met Rasulullah’s teaching his small band of companions, reciting the verses of the Quran to them and performing  Solat with them in submission to Allah SWT, the Great, the Most High. Rasulullah SAW welcomed him, and with his noble hand tenderly touched Musab's  heart as it throbbed with excitement. A deep feeling of tranquility came over him.
Musab RA was totally overwhelmed by what he had seen and heard. The words of the Quran had made a deep and immediate impression on him. In this first meeting with Rasulullah SAW, the young and decisive Musab RA declared his acceptance of Islam. It was a historic moment. The keen mind of Musab, RA his tenacious will and determination, his eloquence and his beautiful character were now in the service of Islam and would help change the course of men's destinies and of history. On accepting Islam Musab RA had one major concern his mother. Her name was Khunnas bint Malik. She was a woman of extraordinary power. She had a dominant personality and could easily arouse fear and terror. When Musab became a Muslim, the only power on earth he might have feared was his mother. All the powerful nobles of Makkah and their attachment to pagan customs and traditions were of little consequence to him. Having his mother as an opponent, however, could not be taken lightly.

Musab thought quickly. He decided that he should conceal his acceptance of Islam until such time as a solution should come from Allah SWT. He continued to frequent the House of al-Arqam and sit in the company of Rasulullah SAW. He felt serene in his new faith and by keeping all indications of his acceptance of Islam away from her, he managed to stave off his mother's wrath, but not for long. It was difficult during those days to keep anything secret in Makkah for long. The eyes and ears of the Quraish were on every road. Behind every footstep imprinted in the soft and burning sand was a Quraish informer. Before long, Musab RA was seen as he quietly entered the House of al-Arqam, by someone called Uthman ibn Talhah.

At another time, Uthman saw Musab praying in the same manner as Muhammad prayed. The conclusion was obvious. As winds in a storm, the devastating news of Musab's acceptance of Islam spread among the Quraish and eventually reached his mother. Musab RA stood before his mother, his clan and the Quraish nobility who had all gathered to find out what he had done and what he had to say for himself. With a certain humility and calm confidence, Musab RA acknowledged that he had become a Muslim and no doubt he explained his reasons for so doing. He then recited some verses of the Quran - verses which had cleansed the hearts of the believers and brought them back to the natural religion of Allah. Though only few in number, their hearts were now filled with wisdom, honor, justice and courage.
 

As Musab's mother listened to her son on whom she had lavished so much care and affection, she became increasingly incensed. She felt like silencing him with one terrible blow. But the hand which shot out like an arrow staggered and faltered before the light which radiated from Musab's RA serene face. Perhaps, it was her mother's love which restrained her from actually beating him, but still she felt she had to do something to avenge the gods which her son had forsaken. The solution she decided upon was far worse for Musab RA than a few blows could ever have been. She had Musab taken to a far corner of the house. There he was firmly bound and tethered. He had become a prisoner in his own home.
 For a long time, Musab RA remained tied and confined under the watchful eyes of guards whom his mother had placed over him to prevent him from any further contact with Rasulullah  and his faith. Despite his ordeal, Musab RA did not waver. He must have had news of how other Muslims were being harassed and tortured by the idolators. For him, as for many other Muslims, life in Makkah was becoming more and more intolerable. Eventually he heard that a group of Muslims were preparing secretly to migrate to Abyssinia to seek refuge and relief. His immediate thoughts were how to escape from his prison and join them. At the first opportunity, when his mother and his warders were off-guard, he managed to slip away quietly. Then with utmost haste he joined the other refugees and before long they sailed together across the Red Sea to Africa.
 

Although the Muslims enjoyed peace and security in the land of the Negus, they longed to be in Makkah in the company of the noble Prophet. So when a report reached Abyssinia that the conditions of the Muslims in Makkah had improved, Musab was among the fi rst to return to Makkah. The report was in fact false and Musab once again left for Abyssinia. Whether he was in Makkah or Abyssinia, Musab remained strong in his new faith and his main concern was to make his life worthy of his Creator. When Musab returned to Makkah again, his mother made a last attempt to gain control of him and threatened to have him tied up again and confined. Musab RA swore that if she were to do that, he would kill everyone who helped her. She knew very well that he would carry out this threat for she saw the iron determination he now had. Separation was inevitable. When the moment came, it was sad for both mother and son but it revealed a strong Persistence in kufr on the part of the mother and an even greater persistence in iman on the part of the son. As she threw him out of her house and cut him off from all the material comforts she used to lavish on him, she said:

"Go to your own business. I am not prepared to be a mother to you." Musab RA went up close to her and said: "Mother, I advise you sincerely. I am concerned about you. Do testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger." "I swear by the shooting stars, I shall not enter your religion even if my opinion is ridiculed and my mind becomes impotent," she insisted. Musab RA thus left her home and the luxury and comforts he used to enjoy. The elegant, well-dressed youth would henceforth be seen only in the coarsest of attire. He now had more important concerns. He was determined to use his talents and energies in acquiring knowledge and in serving Allah SWT and His Rasul.

One day, several years later, Mus’ab RA came upon a gathering of Muslims sitting around Rasulullah SAW. They bowed their heads and lowered their gaze when they saw Mus’ab RA, and some were even moved to tears. This was because his jalbab was old and in tatters and they were immediately taken back to the days before his acceptance of Islam when he was a model of sartorial elegance. Rasulullah SAW  looked at Musab RA, smiled gracefully and said: "I have seen this Mus’ab RA with his parents in Makkah. They lavished care and attention on him and gave him all comforts. There was no Quraish youth like him. Then he left all that seeking the pleasure of Allah and devoting himself to the service of His Rasul." Rasulullah SAW then went on to say: "There will come a time when Allah will grant you victory over Persia and Byzantium. You would have one dress in the morning and another in the evening and you would eat out of one dish in the morning and another in the evening."

[In other words, Rasulullah SAW predicted that the Muslims would become rich and powerful and that they would have material goods in plenty. The companions sitting around asked the Prophet]:

"O Rasul of Allah, are we in a better situation in these times or would we be better off then?" He replied: "You are rather better off now than you would be then. If you knew of the world what I know you would certainly not be so much concerned with it." On another occasion, Rasulullah SAW talked in a similar vein to his companions and asked them how they would be if they could have one suit of clothes in the morning and another in the evening and even have enough material to put curtains in their houses just as the Kabah was fully covered. The companions replied that they would then be in a better situation because they would then have sufficient sustenance and would be free for ibadah (worship). Rasulullah SAW  however told them that they were indeed better off as they were. After about ten years of inviting people to Islam, most of Makkah still remained hostile. The noble Rasulullah SAW then went to Taif seeking new adherents to the faith. He was repulsed and chased out of the city. The future of Islam looked bleak.
 

It was just after this that Rasulullah SAW chose MusabRA  to be his "ambassador" to Yathrib to teach a small group of believers who had come to pledge allegiance to Islam and prepare Madinah for the day of the great Hijrah. Musab RA was chosen above companions who were older than he or were more closely related to the Prophet or who appeared to possess greater prestige. No doubt Musab RA was chosen for this task because of his noble character, his fine manners and his sharp intellect. His knowledge of the Quran and his ability to recite it beautifully and movingly was also an important consideration. Musab RA understood his mission well. He knew that he was on a sacred mission. To invite people to God and the straight path of Islam and to prepare what was to be the territorial base for the young and struggling Muslim community. He entered Madinah as a guest of Sad ibn Zurarah of the Khazraj tribe. Together they went to people, to their homes and their gatherings, telling them about Rasulullah SAW, explaining Islam to them and reciting the Quran. Through the grace of Allah SWT , many accepted Islam. This was especially pleasing to Musab RA but profoundly alarming to many leaders of Yathribite society.

Once Musab RA and Sad RA were sitting near a well in an orchard of the Zafar clan. With them were a number of new Muslims and others who were interested in Islam. A powerful notable of the city, Usayd ibn Khudayr, came up brandishing a spear. He was livid with rage. Sad ibn Zararah RA saw him and told Musab RA: "This is a chieftain of his people. May Allah SWT place truth in his heart." "If he sits down, I will speak to him," replied Musab RA, displaying all the calm and tact of a great daiy. The angry Usayd shouted abuse and threatened Musab RA and his host. "Why have you both come to us to corrupt the weak among us? Keep away from us if you want to stay alive." Musab RA smiled a warm and friendly smile and said to Usayd: "Won't you sit down and listen? If you are pleased and satisfied with our mission. accept it and if you dislike it we would stop telling you what you dislike and leave."

"That's reasonable," said Usayd and, sticking his spear in the ground, sat down. Musab RA was not compelling him to do anything. He was not denouncing him. He was merely inviting him to listen. If he was satisfied, well and good. If not, then Musab RA would leave his district and his clan without any fuss and go to another district. Musab RA began telling him about Islam and recited the Quran to him. Even before Usayd spoke, it was clear from his face, now radiant and expectant, that faith had entered his heart. He said: "How beautiful are these words and how true! What does a person do if he wants to enter this religion?" "Have a bath, purify yourself and your clothes. Then utter the testimony of Truth (Shahadah), and perform Salat. Usayd left the gathering and was absent for only a short while. He returned and testified that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. He then prayed two rakats and said: "After me, there is a man who if he follows you, everyone of his people will follow him. I shall send him to you now. He is 'Sad ibn Muadh."


Sad ibn Muadh came and listened to Musab RA. He was convinced and satisf ied and declared his submission to Allah SWT. He was followed by another important Yathribite, Sad ibn Ubadah. Before long, the people of Yathrib were all in a flurry, asking one another. "If Usayd ibn Khudayr, Sad ibn Muadh and Sad ibn Ubadah have accepted the new religion, how can we not follow? Let's go to Musab RA and believe with him. They say that truth emanates from his lips." The first ambassador of Rasulullah SAW, was thus supremely successful. Rasulullah SAW  had chosen well. Men and women, the young and the old, the powerful and the weak accepted Islam at his hands. The course of Yathribite history had been changed forever. The way was being prepared for the great Hijrah. Yathrib was soon to become the center and the base for the Islamic state. Less than a year after his arrival in Yathrib, Musab RA returned to Makkah. It was again in the season of pilgrimage. With him was a group of seventy-five Muslims from Madinah. Again at Aqabah, near Mina, they met Rasulullah SAW. There they solemnly undertook to defend Rasulullah SAW at all cost. Should they remain firm in their faith, their reward, said Rasulullah SAW, would be nothing less than Paradise. This second bai’ah or pledge which the Muslims of Yathrib made came to be called the Pledge of War.
 

From then on events moved swiftly. Shortly after the Pledge, Rasulullah SAW  directed his persecuted followers to migrate to Yathrib where the new Muslims or Ansar (Helpers) had shown their willingness to give asylum and extend their protection to the afflicted Muslims. The first of Rasulullah’s  companions to arrive in Madinah were Musab ibn Umayr RA and the blind Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum RA. Abdullah also recited the Quran beautifully and according to one of the Ansar, both Musab RA and Abdullah RA recited the Quran for the people of Yathrib. Musab RA continued to play a major role in the building of the new community. The next momentous situation in which we meet him was during the great Battle of Badr. After the battle was over, the Quraish prisoners of war were brought to Rasulullah SAW who assigned them to the custody of individual Muslims. "Treat them well," he instructed. Among the prisoners was Abu Aziz ibn Umayr, the brother of Musab RA. Abu Aziz related what happened: "I was among a group of Ansar...Whenever they had lunch or dinner they would give me bread and dates to eat in obedience to Rasulullah’s instructions to them to treat us well. "My brother, Musab ibn Umayr, RA passed by me and said to the man from the Ansar who was holding me prisoner: 'Tie him firmly... His mother is a woman of great wealth and maybe she would ransom him for you.'" Abu Aziz could not believe his ears. Astonished, he turned to Musab RA and asked: "My brother, is this your instruction concerning me?"

"He is my brother, not you," replied Musab RA thus affirming that in the battle between iman and kufr, the bonds of faith were stronger than the ties of kinship. At the Battle of Uhud, Rasulullah SAW called upon Musab RA, now well-known as Musab al-Khayr (the Good), to carry the Muslim standard. At the beginning of the battle, the Muslims seemed to be gaining the upper hand. A group of Muslims then went against the orders of Rasulullah SAW  and deserted their positions. The mushrikin forces rallied again and launched a counterattack. Their main objective, as they cut through the Muslim forces, was to get to the noble Rasulullah SAW. Musab RA realized the great danger facing Rasulullah SAW. He raised the standard high and shouted the takbir. With the standard in one hand and his sword in the other, he plunged into the Quraish forces. The odds were against him. A Quraish horseman moved in close and severed his right hand. Musab RA was heard to repeat the words: "Muhammad is only a Messenger. Messengers have passed away before him," showing that however great his attachment was to Rasulullah SAW himself, his struggle above all was for the sake of Allah SWT and for making His word supreme. His left hand was then severed also and as he held the standard between the stumps of his arms, to console himself he repeated: "Muhammad is only a Messenger of God. Messengers have passed away before him." Musab RA was then hit by a spear. He fell and the standard fell. The words he repeated, every time he was struck were later revealed to Rasulullah SAW and completed, and became part of the Quran.

After the battle, rasulullah SAW  and his companions went through the battlefield, bidding farewell to the martyrs. When they came to Musab's RA  body, tears flowed. Khabbah RA related that they could not find any cloth with which to shroud Musab's RA body, except his own garment. When they covered his head with it, his legs showed and when his legs were covered, his head was exposed and Rasulullah SAW instructed: "Place the garment over his head and cover his feet and legs with the leaves of the idhkhir (rue) plant." Rasulullah SAW felt deep pain and sorrow at the number of his companions who were killed at the Battle of Uhud. These included his uncle Hamzah RA whose body was horribly mutilated. But it was over the body of Mus’ab RA that Rasulullah SAW stood, with great emotion. He remembered MusabRA  as he first saw him in Makkah, stylish and elegant, and then looked at the short burdah which was now the only garment he possessed and he recited the verse of the Quran:
 

"Among the believers are men who have been true to what they have pledged to Allah." Rasulullah SAW  then cast his tender eyes over the battle field on which lay the dead companions of Mus’ab RA and said: "The Messenger of Allah  testifies that you are martyrs in the sight of Allah on the day of Qiyamah." Then turning to the living companions around him he said: "O People! Visit them; send peace on them for, by Him in whose hand is my soul, any Muslim who sends peace on them until the day of Qiyamah, they would return the salutation of peace."

“As-salaamu alayka yaa Mus’ab... As-salaamu alaykum, ma'shar ash-shudhadaa.
As-salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu.
Peace be on you, O Musab... Peace be on you all, O martyrs. .
 Peace be on you and the mercy and blessings of Allah SWT