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| Illustration Only: "The Lion of Allah" |
After a day full of work, worship,
and entertainment, the people of Makkah fell into a deep sleep. The people of
the Quraish were turning in their beds except for one who forsook his bed of
sleep. Rasulullah ﷺ. used to go to bed early,
rest for a few hours, and then wake up in great anxiety for the expected
appointment with Allah. Rasulullah ﷺ. went to
the praying comer in his room to supplicate to his God. Whenever his wife
awakened upon hearing the voice of his long supplications, she shed tears out
of warm sympathy and asked Rasulullah ﷺ not to
take it so hard and to get some sleep. Rasulullah ﷺ only answered her in tears, "The time for sleep is
over, Khadijah." At that time Rasulullah ﷺ was not
yet a serious problem for the Quraish, although he had started to draw their
attention as Rasulullah ﷺ started to spread his call
secretly; those who believed in Rasulullah ﷺ were still
quite few.
There were people among the
non-believers who loved and respected Rasulullah ﷺ. They
yearned to declare their belief in Rasulullah ﷺ and become
one of his followers, but their fear of the prevailing norms and the pressure
of inherited traditions prevented them. Among them was Hamzah Ibn Abdul
Muttalib, Rasulullah ﷺ’s paternal uncle who was at
the same times his brother through fosterage (i.e. they had been breast-fed by
the same woman- Thuwaibah).
Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib was fully
aware of the greatness of his nephew (Rasulullah ﷺ) and of the
truth he came with. Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib used to know him not only as a
nephew, but also as a brother and friend because they both belonged to the same
generation. They always played together and walked together on the same road of
life step by step. But in their youth they departed, each one in his own way:
Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib preferred the life of leisure, trying to take his
place among the prominent leaders of the Quraish and Makkah, while the young
Muhammad (Rasulullah ﷺ) chose the life of seclusion
away from the crowd, immersed in the deep spiritual meditation that prepared
him to receive the truth.
Despite the fact that each of them
had a different way of living out his own youth, Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib was
always attentive to the virtues of his friend and nephew. Such virtues helped the
young Muhammad (Rasulullah ﷺ) to win a special place in
the hearts of people and helped to draw a clear outline for his great future.
One day, Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib
went out as usual. At the Kaabah he found a number of Quraishi noblemen. Hamzah
Ibn Abdul Muttalib sat with them, listening to what they had to say: they were
talking about Muhammad. For the first time, Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib saw they are
worried about the call his nephew was propagating with a tone of bitterness and
rage marking their voices. Before that, they had never paid attention - at
least they had pretended not to do so - but on that day their faces looked
perplexed, upset, and aggressive.
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| Illustration Only: "Saidina Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib RA" |
Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib laughed
at their talks and accused them of exaggeration. Abu Jahl said to his
companions that Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib was the best one to know the danger
of his nephew's call and that he pretended to underestimate this danger till
the Quraish would relax so much that when they awakened it would be after his
nephew had complete control over them.
They kept talking and threatening
while Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib sat, sometimes smiling, sometimes frowning.
When they dispersed Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib mind was full of new ideas about
the issues of his nephew that they had discussed in his presence.
Days passed and the Quraish's
whispering about Rasulullah ﷺ’s call increased. Later,
whispering turned into provocation and Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib watched from a
distance. His nephew's composed, steadfast attitude towards their provocations
puzzled him. Such an attitude was quite unfamiliar to the Bani Quraish, who was
themselves known to be strong and challenging.
If doubts of the greatness and
truth of Muhammad (Rasulullah ﷺ) could steal into anyone's
heart, they would have never stolen into Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib's heart,
because he was the best one to know Muhammad from his early childhood to his
youth, then to his proud, honest manhood. Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib knew
Muhammad (Rasulullah ﷺ) as he knew himself and
maybe more. Since they had come into life together, grown up together, and
attained full strength together, Muhammad's life had been as pure and clear as
the sunlight. It never occurred to Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib that Muhammad
could make an error or a doubtful act in his life. Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib
never saw Muhammad angry, hopeless, greedy, careless, or unstable.
Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib was not
only physically strong, but was also wise and strong-willed. Therefore, it was
natural for him to follow a man in whose honesty and truthfulness he
wholeheartedly believed. Thus Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib kept a secret in his
heart that was soon going to be disclosed.
Then, come the day. Hamzah Ibn
Abdul Muttalib went out of his house towards the desert carrying his bow to
practice his favorite sport of hunting (in which he was very skilled). Hamzah
Ibn Abdul Muttalib spent most of his day there. On his way home he passed by
the Kaabah as usual, to circumambulate it.
The female servant of 'Abd Allah
Ibn Jud'aan met Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib near the Kaabah and said: "O Abu
'Umara! You haven't seen what happened to your nephew at the hands of Abu
Al-Hakam Ibn Hisham. When she saw Muhammad sitting there, Abu Al-Hakam Ibn
Hisham hurt him and called him bad names and treated him in a way that he
hated." She went on to explain what Abu Jahl had done to Rasulullah ﷺ.
Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib listened
to her carefully and paused for a while, and then with his right hand Hamzah
Ibn Abdul Muttalib picked up his bow and put it on his shoulder. Hamzah Ibn
Abdul Muttalib walked with fast, steady steps towards the Kaabah, hoping to
meet Abu Jahl there. Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib decided that if he did not find
him, he would search for him everywhere till he did.
As soon as he reached the Kaabah he
glanced at Abu Jahl sitting in the yard in the middle of the Quraishi noblemen.
Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib RA advanced very calmly towards Abu Jahl and
hit him with his bow on the head till it broke the skin and bled. To
everybody's surprise, Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib RA shouted: "You
dare to insult Muhammad while I follow his religion and I say what he says?
Come and retaliate upon me. Hit me if you can." In a moment they all
forgot how their leader Abu Jahl had been insulted and they were all
thunderstruck by the news that Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib RA had
converted to Rasulullah ﷺ 's religion and that he saw
what Rasulullah ﷺ saw and said what he said.
Could Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib RA really have converted to Islam when
he was the strongest and most dignified Quraishi young man?
Such was the overwhelming disaster
to which the Quraish were helpless, because Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib
RA’s conversion would attract others
from the elite to do the same. Thus Rasulullah ﷺ’s call would
be supported and he would find enough solidarity that the Quraish might wake up
one day to find their idols being pulled down.
Indeed, Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul
Muttalib RA had converted, and he announced what he had kept secret in his
heart for so long.
Again Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul
Muttalib RA picked up his bow, put it on his shoulder, and with steady steps
and full strength left the place with everyone looking disappointed and Abu
Jahl licking the blood flowing from his wounded head.
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| Illustration Only: The leader of all matyrs in Islam. |
Saiyidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib
RA possessed a sharp sight and clear consciousness. Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul
Muttalib RA went home, and after he had relaxed from the day's exhaustion he
sat down to thinks over what had happened. Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib RA
had announced it in a moment of indignation and rage. Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul
Muttalib RA hated to see his nephew getting insulted and suffering injustice
with no one to help him. Such racial zeal for the honor of Bani Hashim’s talk
had made him hit Abu Jahl on the head and shout declaring his Islam. But was
that the ideal way for anyone to change the religion of his parents and
ancestors and to embrace a new religion whose teachings he had not yet become
familiar with and whose true reality he had not acquired sufficient knowledge
of? It was true that Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib RA had never had any
doubts about Rasulullah ﷺ’s integrity, but could
anybody embrace a new religion with all its responsibilities just in a moment
of rage as Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib RA had done?
It was true that Saidina Hamzah Ibn
Abdul Muttalib RA had always kept in his heart a great respect for the new call
his nephew was carrying and its banner, but what should the right time have
been to embrace this religion if he was destined to embrace it? Should it be a
moment of indignation and anger or a moment of deep reflection? Thus Saidina
Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib RA was inspired by a clear consciousness to
reconsider the whole situation in light of strict and meticulous thinking.
Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib
RA started thinking. Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib RA spent many restless
days and sleepless nights. When one tries to attain the truth by the power of
mind, uncertainty will become a means of knowledge, and this is what happened
to Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib RA. Once Saiyidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul
Muttalib RA used his mind to search Islam and to weigh between the old religion
and the new one, he started to have doubts raised by his innate inherited
nostalgia for his father's religion and by the natural fear of anything new.
All his memories of the Kaabah, the idols, the statues and the high religious
status these idols bestowed on the Quraish and Makkah were raised.
It appeared to him that denying all
this history and the ancient religion was like a big chasm, which had to be
crossed. Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib RA was amazed at how a man could
depart from the religion of his father that early and that fast. Saidina Hamzah
Ibn Abdul Muttalib RA regretted what he had done but he went on with the
journey of reasonable thinking. But at that moment, he realized that his mind
was not enough and that he should resort sincerely to the unseen power. At the
Kaabah Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib RA prayed and supplicated to heaven,
seeking help from every light that existed in the universe to be guided to the
right path.
Let us hear him narrating his own
story:
“I regretted having departed from
the religion of my father and kin, and I was in a terrible state of uncertainty
and could not sleep. I came to the Kaabah and supplicated to Allah to open my
heart to what was right and to eliminate all doubts from it. Allah answered my
prayer and filled my heart with faith and certainty. In the morning I went to Rasulullah
ﷺ informing him about myself, and he
prayed to Allah that He may keep my heart stable in this religion.
In this way Saidina Hamzah Ibn
Abdul Muttalib RA converted to Islam, the religion of certainty.
Allah supported Islam with Saiyidina
Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib RA’s conversion. Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib RA
was strong in defending Rasulullah ﷺ and the
helpless amongst his Companions. When Abu Jahl saw him among the Muslims, he
realized that war was inevitably coming. Therefore he began to support the
Quraish to ruin Rasulullah ﷺ and his Companions. He
wanted to prepare for a civil war to relieve his heart of anger and bitter
feelings.
Saiyidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib
RA was unable, of course, to prevent all the harm alone, but his conversion was
a shield that protected the Muslims, and was the first source of attraction to
many tribes to embrace Islam. The second source was Saidina Umar Ibn
Al-Khattab's RA conversion, after which people entered Allah's religion in
crowds. Since his conversion, Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abdul Muttalib RA devoted all
his life and power to Allah and His religion till Rasulullah ﷺ honored him with the noble title, "The Lion of Allah
and of His Messenger".
The brotherhood of blood between Rasulullah ﷺ with Saidina Hamzah ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib RA.
Saidina Hamzah ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib RA
(Arabic: حمزة بن عبد المطلب). Saidina Hamzah ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib RA was a
companion and paternal uncle of Rasulullah ﷺ.
Saidina Hamzah ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib
RA was born about two to four years earlier than Rasulullah ﷺ and we may wonder of being an uncle of almost the same age.
It start of during the youthful age of Abdullah ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib the father
of Rasulullah ﷺ. Abdul
Muttalib ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf ibn Qussaiy from the Quraish tribe in Makkah
is the grandfather of Rasulullah ﷺ. One day Abdul Muttalib and his son Abdullah (Father of Rasulullah ﷺ) went to the house of
Wahab ibn Abdul Manaf to seek the hand of Wahab’s daughter Aminah (Mother of Rasulullah ﷺ).
They both met the parents of Aminah
(Rasulullah
ﷺ’s mother). While they were there
discussing their intention seeking of Wahab’s daughter – Aminah, Abdul Muttalib
noticed Wahab’s niece, Hala bint Uhayb, and he asked for her hand as well. Wahab
agreed, and Rasulullah ﷺ’s father Abdullah and his
grandfather Abdul Muttalib were both married on the same day in a double
marriage ceremony. Hence Saidina Hamzah Ibn 'Abd Al-Muttalib RA was the younger
brother of Muhammad’s father. Thus Hala bint Uhayb is the mother of Saidina
Hamzah RA from the younger wife of Abdul Muttalib.
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| Grave of Hamzah Ibn Abd Mutallib RA in Uhud, Madinah. |
Not to forget apart from the
natural bloodline of Abdul Muttalib and being the younger brother of Abdullah
(father of Rasulullah ﷺ) Saidina Hamzah RA was Rasulullah
ﷺ’s foster-brother: they had both
been suckled by the slave Thuwaibah. It was traditionally agreed that Saidina
Hamzah RA was four years older than Rasulullah ﷺ.
Though this is disputed by Ibn Said
RA, who argues;
“Zubayr RA narrated that Saidina Hamzah RA was
four years older than Rasulullah ﷺ. But this
does not seem correct, because reliable hadith state that Thuwaibah nursed both
Saidina Hamzah RA and Rasulullah ﷺ.” Ibn Said
RA concludes that Saidina Hamzah RA was only two years older than Rasulullah ﷺ, though he adds the traditional expression of doubt, “Only Allah
knows.”
Ibn Hajar writes: “Saidina Hamzah
RA was born two to four years before Rasulullah ﷺ.
Just to re-affirmed the early
biography of Saidina Hamzah RA ibn Abdul Muttalib, where Saidina Hamzah RA other
kunyas were Abu Umara (أَبُو عُمَارَةَ) and Abu Yaala, (أَبُو يَعْلَى). Saidina Hamzah RA had the by-names Lion of God (أسد الله) and the Lion
of Paradise (أسد الجنة), and Rasulullah ﷺ gave him
the posthumous title Sayyid-ush-Shuhda or known as “The chief of the Martyrs”.
We
understand now the blood lineage and the close relationship between Rasulullah ﷺ and Saidina Hamzah RA. The father of Saidina Hamzah RA was
Abdul Muttalib ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf ibn Qussaiy from the Quraish tribe in
Makkah the well-known tribe with direct blood lineage from Prophet Ismael AS
and his father Prophet Abraham Khalilullah AS. Saidina Hamzah RA mother was
Hala bint Uhayb from the Zuhra clan of the Quraish.
Saidina Hamzah RA was skilled in
wrestling, archery and swordsmanship. Saidina Hamzah RA was fond of
hunting, and he is described as “the strongest man of the Quraish, and the most
unyielding.” Saidina Hamzah RA married three times and had six children.
Conversion to Islam (Other reliable
version)
Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib took little
notice of Islam for the first few years. Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib did not
respond to Rasulullah ﷺ’s first appeal to the
Hashim clan in 613.
Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib converted
to Islam in late 615 or early 616.Upon returning to Makkah after a hunting trip
in the desert. Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib heard that Abu Jahl had “attacked Rasulullah
ﷺ and abused and insulted him, “speaking
spitefully of his religion and trying to bring him into disrepute.” Rasulullah ﷺ’s had not replied to him. “Filled with rage,” Hamzah Ibn Abd
Muttalib “went out at a run … meaning to punish Abu Jahl when he met him.” Hamzah
Ibn Abd Muttalib entered the Kaabah, where Abu Jahl was sitting with the
elders, stood over him and “struck him a violent blow” with his bow. Hamzah Ibn
Abd Muttalib said, “Will you insult him, when I am of his religion and say what
he says? Hit me back if you can! Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib “struck Abu Jahl’s
head with a blow that cut open his head.” Some of Abu Jahl’s relatives
approached to help him, but he told them, “Leave Abu Umara [Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib]
alone, for, by God, I insulted his nephew deeply.”
After that incident, Hamzah Ibn Abd
Muttalib entered the House of Al-Arqam and declared Islam. “Saidina Hamzah Ibn
Abd Muttalib RA’s Islam was complete, and he followed Rasulullah ﷺ’s commands. When he became a Muslim, the Quraish recognized
that Rasulullah ﷺ had become strong, and had
found a protector in Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA, and so they abandoned
some of their ways of harassing him.” Instead, they tried to strike bargains
with him; but he did not accept their offers.
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| Closer Image: The grave of Saidina Hamzah ibn Abd Muttalib RA |
Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA joined
the emigration to Madinah in 622 and lodged with Kulthum ibn al-Hidm RA or Saad
ibn Khaythama RA. Rasulullah ﷺ made him the brother in Islam
of Zayd ibn Harithah RA.
Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA - “The Lion of Allah”.
Allahu Akbar!!! An undisputed fact
Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA is “The Lion of Allah”. If “Simba the King
of the Jungle” a well-known epic within the animal kingdom, a legendary beast
much admired until today.
Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA
- his bravery, dedication, sacrifice and contribution towards strengthening the
‘Deen” in early era of Islam beyond our grasp of thoughts. This towering figure in Islam is of no
equivalents in any form, even among the companions and to any human being of
courage until end of time.
The Jihad of Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd
Muttalib RA
1) The
Encounter of Juhaina
Rasulullah ﷺ sent Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA on his first
encounter against the Kuffar Quraish. Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA led an
expedition of thirty riders to the coast in Juhaina territory to intercept a
merchant-caravan returning from Syam (Today Syria). Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd
Muttalib RA met Abu Jahl at the head of the caravan with three hundred riders at
the seashore. Majdi ibn Amr al-Juhani intervened between them, “for he was at
peace with both parties,” and the two parties separated without any fighting.
There is dispute as to whether Saidina
Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA or his second cousin Ubaidah ibn al-Harith RA was
the first Muslim to whom Rasulullah ﷺ gave a
flag.
2) Ghazwah el
Badr ( Battle of Badr)
Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA and
Saidina Ali Ibn Abu Talib RA lead the Muslim armies at Badr.
The first military raid launched by
the Muslims against their enemies was under the command of Saidina Hamzah Ibn
Abd Muttalib RA. The first banner that Rasulullah ﷺ handed to any Muslim was to Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib
RA. In the battle of Badr, when the two conflicting parties met, the Lion of
Allah and of His Messenger was there performing great wonders.
Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA
fought at the Battle of Badr, where he shared a camel with Zayd ibn Harithah RA
and where his distinctive ostrich feather made him highly visible. The Muslims
blocked the wells at Badr.
“Al-Aswad ibn Abdal Asad
al-Makhzumi, who was a quarrelsome ill-natured man, stepped forth and said, ‘I
swear to God that I will drink from their cistern or destroy it or die before
reaching it.’ Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA came forth against him, and
when the two met, Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA smote him and sent his
foot and half his shank flying as he was near the cistern. He fell on his back
and lays there, blood streaming from his foot towards his comrades. Then he
crawled to the cistern and threw himself into it with the purpose of fulfilling
his oath, but Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA followed him and smote him and
killed him in the cistern.”
Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA
then killed Utbah ibn Rabi'ah in single combat and helped Saidina Ali Ibn Abi
Talib RA to kill Utbah’s brother Shaybah. It is disputed whether it was Saidina
Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA or Saidina Ali Ibn Abi Talib RA who killed Tuwaimah
ibn Adiy.
The defeated remnants of the
Quraish army went back to Makkah stumbling in disappointment. Abu Sufyaan was
brokenhearted with a bowed head as he left on the battlefield the dead bodies
of the Quraish martyrs such as Abu Jahl, "Utbah Ibn RabiTah, Shaibah Ibn
Rabifah, Umaiyah Ibn Khalaf, 'Uqbah Ibn Abi Mu'ait, Al-Aswad Ibn 'Abdul Al-Asad
Al-Makhzumi, Al- Waliid Ibn 'Utbah, Al-Nafr Ibn Al-Haarith, Al-'Aas Ibn Sa'iid,
Ta'mah and tens of other great Quraish.
3) Encounter
with Banu Qunaiqa.
Later Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd
Muttalib RA carried Rasulullah ﷺ’s banner in the expedition
against the Banu Qaynuqa.
4)
Battle of
Uhud
Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA was killed at the Battle of Uhud on 22
March 625 (3 Shawwal 3 Hijri) when he was 59 (lunar) years old. Saidina Hamzah
Ibn Abd Muttalib RA was standing in front of Rasulullah ﷺ, fighting with two swords and shouting, “I am Allah’s lion!” While he
was fighting in the Battle of Uhud he had a feather of an ostrich in his
turban."
Jubayr ibn Mut'im the musyrik bribed
his Abyssinian slave Wahshi ibn Harb with a promise of manumission if he killed
Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA
“in revenge for his uncle death, Tuwayma ibn Adiy.” Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd
Muttalib RA running back and forth, stumbled and fell on his back; and Wahshi,
“who could throw a javelin as the Abyssinians do and seldom missed the mark”.”Threw
it into Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib
RA’s abdomen and killed him. Wahshi then slit open his stomach and brought
his liver to Hind bint Utbah also a musyrik at that time whose father Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA had
killed at Badr.
Hind chewed Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA’s liver then spat it out. “Then
she went and mutilated Saidina Hamzah
Ibn Abd Muttalib RA and made anklets, necklaces and pendants from his body
and brought them and his liver to Makkah.”
Saidina Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA was buried in the same grave as
his nephew Abdullah ibn Jahsh RA. Rasulullah
ﷺ later
said, “I saw the angels washing Saidina
Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA because he was in Paradise on that day.”
Saidatuna Fatimah used to go to Saidina
Hamzah Ibn Abd Muttalib RA’s grave and tend it.
