At-Tufail ibn Amr was the chief
of the Daws tribe in pre-Quranic times and a distinguished Arab notable known
for his manly virtues and good works. He fed the hungry, comforted those in
distress and granted asylum to refugees. He was also keenly interested in
literature and was himself a sharp and sensitive poet capable of expressing the
most delicate emotions. He was also considered a great intellectual of his
people & a source of pride for his people. The Quraish recognized Tufail’s
status among his people
 |
Tufail left the hearths of his
village in Tihama in the south of the Arabian Peninsula and set out for Makkah.
The struggle between the noble Rasulullah SAW and the disbelieving Quraish was
already at its height. Each wanted to gain support for his cause and recruit
helpers. Rasulullah SAW, sought help from his Lord. His weapons were faith and
truth. The disbelieving Quraish resisted his message with every weapon, and
attempted to keep people away from it by all the means at their disposal.
Tufail found himself entering
this battle without any preparation or warning. He did not come to Makkah to
get involved in it. Indeed he was not
aware of the struggle that was taking place.
Let Tufail himself take up the
story from this point:
I approached Makkah. As soon as
the Quraish leaders saw me, they came up to me and gave me a most hearty
welcome and accommodated me in a grand house. Their leaders and notables then
gathered and said:
"O Tufail, you have come to
our town. This man who claims that he is “The Rasul of Allah SWT” has ruined
our authority and shattered our community. We are afraid that he would succeed
in undermining you and your authority among your people just as he has done
with us. Don't speak to the man. On no account listen to anything he has to
say. He has the speech of a wizard, causing division between father and son,
between brother and brother and between husband and wife."
They went on telling me the most
fantastic stories and scared me by recounting tales of his incredible deeds. I
made up my mind then not to approach this man, or speak to him or listen to
anything he had to say.
 |
The following morning I went to
the Sacred Mosque to make Tawaf around the Kaabah as an act of worship to the
idols that we made pilgrimage to and glorified. I inserted a piece of cotton in
my ears out of fear that something of the speech of Rasulullah SAW would reach
my hearing. As soon as I entered the Mosque, I saw him standing near the
Kaabah. He was praying in a fashion which was different from our prayer. His
whole manner of worship was different. The scene captivated me. His worship
made me tremble and I felt drawn to him, despite myself, until I was quite
close to him.
Notwithstanding the precaution I
had taken, Allah’s willed that some of what he was saying should reach my
hearing and I heard a speech that was so beautiful that I said to myself,
"What are you doing, Tufail? You are a perceptive poet. You can
distinguish between the good and the bad in poetry. What prevents you from
listening to what this man is saying? If what comes from him is good, accept
it, and if it is bad, reject it."
I remained there until Rasulullah
SAW left for his home. I followed him as he entered his house, and I entered
also and said, "O Muhammad, your people have said certain things to me
about you. By Allah, they kept on frightening me away from your message so that
I even blocked my ears to keep out your words. Despite this, God caused me to
hear something of it and I found it good. So tell me more about your
mission."
Rasulullah SAW did and recited to
me Surah Al-Ikhlas and Surah Al-Falaq. I swear by Allah SWT, I had never heard
such beautiful words before. Neither was a more noble or just mission ever
described to me. Thereupon, I stretched out my hand to him in allegiance and
testified that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of
Allah. This is how I entered Islam.
I stayed on for some time in
Makkah learning the teachings of Islam memorizing parts of the Quran. When I
decided to return to my people, I said, "O Rasulullah. I am a man who is
obeyed in his tribe. I am going back to them and I shall invite them to Islam .
. ."
When I returned to my people, my
father, who was quite old then, came up to me and I said, 'O Father, let me
relate my news to you. I am no longer from you and you are not of me.''
"Why so, my son?" he
asked.
"I have accepted Islam and
now follow the religion of Muhammad SAW I replied.
"My son," he said,
"your religion is my religion."
''Go and wash your sell and
cleanse your clothes," I said. "Then come that I may teach you what I
have learnt."
My father did and I explained
Islam to him and he became a Muslim.
"Then came my wife and I
said, "Let me relate my news to you. I am no longer of you and you are not
of me."
"Good heavens! Why so?"
she exclaimed.
"Islam has separated
us," I explained. "I have become a Muslim and follow the religion of
Muhammad."
"Your religion is my
religion," she replied.
'Then go and purify yourself, not
with the water of Dhu Shara, the idol of the Daws, but with pure water from the
mountain. "
"Good gracious! Do you fear
anything from Dhu Shara?"
"Damn Dhu Shara, I told her
to cleanse and wash there, far away from people. I guarantee you that this dumb
stone won't do a thing to you."
She went and washed and I
explained Islam to her and she became a Muslim. I then invited the Daws as a
whole to become Muslims.
They were all slow in responding, except Abu Hurairah
RA. He was the quickest to respond to the invitation of Islam. The next time I went to Makkah,
Abu Hurairah RA was with me.
"What have you left behind?'
Rasulullah asked me.
“The veil over their heart
obscuring the truth and firm disbelief". Sin and disobedience have won
over the Daws."
Rasulullah SAW thereupon stood
up, made wudu and prayed with his hands raised to the heavens. Abu Hurairah RA
remarked, “When I saw Rasulullah SAW like this, I was afraid that he was
praying against my people and that they would be destroyed."
But Rasulullah SAW, "O Lord guides
the Daws, guide the Daws, and guide the Daws." Then Rasulullah SAW turned
to me and said:
"Go back to your people,
befriend them, treat them gently and invite them to Islam."
 |
I stayed in the land of the Daws
inviting them to Islam until after the hijrah of Rasulullah SAW to Madinah and
after the battle of Badr, Uhud and Khandaq had taken place. Then I went to Rasulullah
SAW. With me were eighty families who had become Muslims and who were strong in
their faith. Rasulullah SAW was pleased with us and he gave us a portion of the
booty after the battle of Khaybar. We said to him, "O Rasulullah, make us
the right wing of your army in every battle and make our efforts acceptable."
Tufail RA stayed with Rasulullah
SAW until the liberation of Makkah. After the destruction of the idols there,
Tufail RA asked Rasulullah SAW to send him to put an end to the worship of
Dhu-l Kafayn, the chief idol of his people. Rasulullah SAW gave him permission.
Rasulullah SAW was a very
eloquent man. Rasulullah SAW was able to say a whole lot with very little
words; there are 2-worded hadith, & one of these hadith alone would take
hours to explain
The Qur’an tells us;
“We did not teach him poetry because
it was not appropriate for him. Muhammad is the vessel & medium for divine
revelation, so to not create any doubt about what is divine revelation vs. what
is his poetry, Allah sealed the deal & did not teach His Prophet poetry.”
Rasulullah SAW didn’t even like
to make his supplication rhyme. He didn’t like overdoing things in making
things rhyme & make it sound poetic. Rasulullah SAW didn’t forbid poetry,
but he was just naturally eloquent.
Tufail RA recalled, “I stayed
with Prophet at Khyber until Allah gave the Prophet victory over Makkah. I
asked the Rasulullah to send me to the tribe that worships Dhil Kafain so that
I can destroy that idol.”
Rasulullah SAW sent Tufail RA to
that place. Tufail RA has been holding it in for 8 years (a model of patience)
& now wants to wreak some havoc
Subhannallah wa
bihamdi, subhanallah al adheem
Light on tongue,
heavy in deeds, beloved to Ar-Rahman
Another
version about Tufail RA embraces Islam.
After Rasulullah SAW recited the
Qur’an, Tufail RA said, “Wallahi, the Quraish were wrong. I’ve never heard
anything so beautiful & balanced (intellectually correct & pure) than
the Qur’an.”
Tufail RA said to Rasulullah SAW,
“Make dua that Allah SWT provides for me some type of miracle that will help me
invite my people toward Islam.”
Rasulullah SAW made dua, “O
Allah, make a sign for him.”
Tufail RA then left for his city.
All of a sudden, light shone from his forehead.
Tufail made dua, “O Allah, not in
my face. Don’t put that sign on my face because my people will think that
something bizarre is going on with me.”
He had a walking (traveling)
staff. The top of his walking staff began to glow with noor. Tufail RA got back home, &
the first person he met was his father. Tufail RA then went back to Makkah, to
meet with Rasulullah SAW.
Tufail RA recalled, “I was
basically beat by fornication (the people of Daws care more about their
decadent lifestyle).” The people of Daws were obsessed with alcohol and
fornication
Tufail RA said, “O Rasulullah,
make dua upon the people of Daws. Pray against these people. Pray for the
destruction of these people.”
Rasulullah SAW raised his hands
to make dua. Some narrations say that the Sahabah who were there say that they
were terrified for the people of Daws.
 |
| Your choice for the Right Way... |
But when Rasulullah SAW parted
his lips, he said, “Oh Allah, guide the people of Daws. Bless the people of
Daws with guidance.”
Rasulullah SAW said, “Be very
gentle. Be very kind with them. Give them time. Nurture their Iman.”
Tufail RA recalled, “I continued
to stay & invite my people to Islam until Rasulullah SAW migrated to Madinah.
Not only did he migrate to Madinah, but 2 years passed , Battle of Badr happened,
& another year passed and the Battle of Uhud happened, 2 years passed &
Battle of Trench happened, until I reached Rasulullah SAW at Battle of Khaibar
(5 and ½ years into the Madinah era).”
Tufail RA had been living and
preaching amongst his people for eight years This is the same guy who went
home and returned to Makkah 2 days later, with the mentality, that’s it.
They’re done; just make dua that Allah SWT destroys this people. Let’s just cut
our losses. You got me, my dad, my wife; the three of us are good to go. You
can’t win ‘em all. This same guy went back and stayed
with his people for over 8 years, preaching to them in baby steps, inviting
them to Islam and guiding them in their new religion.
Tufail RA then arrived in Madinah
with 70-80 baytamin Dawsen (70 families of tribe of Daws; perhaps 500 people).”
These 500 people recognized Allah
SWT. And now 8 years later, he raised up to 500 new Muslims.
Tufail RA recalled, “I stayed
with Rasulullah at Khaibar until Allah SWT gave Rasulullah SAW victory over
Makkah. I asked the Rasulullah SAW to send me to the tribe that worships Dhil
Kafain so that I can destroy that idol.”
Rasulullah SAW sent Tufail RA to
that place. Tufail RA has been holding it in for 8 years (a model of patience) and
now wants to wreak some havoc.
Tufail RA had a son that time as
well. Tufail RA had a dream, in which his head had been shaved. A bird came out
from his mouth. Then he was entered back into the womb of a woman. Tufail’s son
is in the dream. They’re trying to reach to each other, but are unable to. Interpretation of the dream was
realized as Tufail was dying. Tufail was injured in a battle, died as a syahid.
His shaved head meant that
he receive a fatal wound
Bird being released from
his mouth meant his soul leaving
Entering the womb meant he
would enter earth (grave)
Being unable to reach his son
meant that his son was also injured in that battle, but recovered and died in
another battle as a syahid.
Back in Tihama among the Daws,
men, women and children of the tribe had gathered and were agitated that the
idol was going to be burnt. They were waiting to see if any evil would befall
Tufail RA should he harm Dhu-l Kafayn. Tufail RA approached the idols with the
worshipers around it. As he set fire to it, he proclaimed:
"O Dhu-l Kafayn, of your worshipers
I certainly am not.
Fire have I inserted into your heart."
Whatever shirk remained in the
Daws tribe went up in the flames that burnt the idol. The whole tribe became
Muslims. Tufail RA remained a lieutenant
of Rasulullah SAW until the noble messenger passed away. Tufail RA then placed
himself in the service of the Khalifah Saidina Abu Bakr RA, the successor of Rasulullah
SAW. During the Riddah wars, he led a contingent of his people against the
impostor, Musailamah.
In the battle of Al-Yamamah that
followed, the dear companion of Rasulullah SAW, Tufail ibn Amr RA fought hard
but eventually fell as a martyr on the battlefield.
Tufail RA - As explained by Professor Abdullah Hadi.
Hadith from Tufail Ar Dausi (Dawsi)
Found In: Sahih Muslim Chapter
No: 1, Faith (Kitab Al Iman)
Hadith no: 211
Narrated: Jabir
That Tufail son of Amr al-Dausi
came to Rasulullah SAW and said: Do you need strong, fortified protection? The
tribe of Daus had a fort in the pre-Islamic days. Rasulullah SAW declined this
offer, since it (the privilege of protecting the Rasulullah) had already been
reserved for the Ansar. When Rasulullah SAW migrated to Medina, Tufail RA son
of Amr also migrated to that place, and there also migrated along with him a
man of his tribe. But the climate of Medina did not suit him, and he fell sick.
He felt very uneasy. So he took hold of an iron head of an arrow and cut his
finger-joints. The blood streamed forth from his hands, till he died. Tufail
son of Amr saw him in a dream. His state was good and he saw him with his hands
wrapped. He (Tufail) said to him: What treatment did your Allah accord to you?
He replied. Allah granted me pardon for my migration to Rasulullah SAW: He (Tufail)
again said: What is this that I see you wrapping up your hands? He replied: I
was told (by Allah): We would not set right anything of yours which you damaged
yourself. Tufail narrated this (dream) to Rasulullah SAW. Upon this he prayed:
O! Allah, grant pardon even to his hands.
Relevance: 23.5541
