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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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:
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"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