TALHA IBN UBAIDULLAH (RA)
Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA (Arabic: طلحة بن عبيدالله) (594-656) was a companion of the Islamic Rasulullah
ﷺ. In Sunni Islam, mostly known for
being of the Ten Promised Paradise. Best known for his roles in the Battle of
Uhud and the Battle of the Camel, in which he died, according to Sunnis he was
given the title "The Generous" by Rasulullah ﷺ.
Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA was born
c.594, the son of Ubaydallah ibn Uthman of the Taym clan of the Quraysh tribe in
Makkah. His mother, Al-Saaba bint Abdullah, was from the Hadram tribe
He is described as a dark-skinned
man with a lot of wavy hair, a handsome face and a narrow nose. Liked to wear
saffron-dyed clothes and musk. He walked swiftly and, when nervous, he would
toy with his ring, which was of gold and set with a ruby.
Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA was a
successful cloth-merchant who eventually left an estate estimated at 30 million
dirhams
In 612 his kinsman Abu Bakr took
him to visit Rasulullah ﷺ, and Talha ibn Ubaydullah
RA became a Muslim. He was said to have been one of the first eight
converts.[15}
Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA was one of
the early reverts to Islam and among the ten blessed with the glad tidings of
Paradise by Rasulullah ﷺ. He was a wealthy
businessman and used to travel to different places for trade and commerce. It
was during one of his trips to Syria that he met a Christian monk who informed
him about the coming of the last prophet, who according to the scriptures,
would appear in the land of Arabia.
The news was interesting for Talha
ibn Ubaydullah RA and soon after his return to Makkah he realized that the the story told by the monk was going to affect his life as on his return he learned
that Rasulullah ﷺ had started claiming
himself as a Prophet and Abu Bakr As Sidique RA was by his side. He was so sure
of the character and honesty of both, Rasulullah ﷺ and Abu
Bakr As Sidique RA, that after having analyzed the whole situation he said to
himself, “These two people can never be partners in anything wrong or false.”
He immediately went to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) to enquire about the veracity of the claims
and then Abu Bakr took him to the Rasulullah ﷺ, where he
declared his faith and said the Shahadah.
The road ahead for Talha ibn
Ubaydullah RA after his reversion to Islam was replete with hurdles, obstacles,
persecution and violence. The Quraish were surprised and furious over his
reversion and tried every possible way to make him turn back from the religion
of Islam. The strongest resistance Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA faced was from his
own mother who went totally berserk after learning his son’s reversion as she
had hoped that he would one day become the leader of the community because of
his excellent and outstanding qualities and virtues.
Masud Ibn Kharash witnessed the
sorry state of Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA and the brutal persecution he met with
at the hands of Makkans and by his own mother. He reported that one day he was
making saee (running) between Safa and Marwa and then there appeared a crowd
pushing and shoving a young man with his hands tied at the back. There was an
old woman in the crowd who lashed the young man repeatedly and hurled abuses at
him. On being enquired it was known that the young man was Talha ibn Ubaydullah
RA the old woman was his mother and such inhumane treatment was because of the
choice he made by accepting the religion that Rasulullah ﷺ brought. However all the disturbing and bone-chilling
torture meted out to Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA made him even more resolute and
stronger in his faith and made the Makkans utterly failed in their attempt (The
story of Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA) has a
question for all of us: are we willing to endure everything with a brave heart
and sublime faith when faced with the same situation?). Even the love for his
own mother could not deviate and deter him from following the truth. With the
passage of time, the relentless persecution became intensified and finally when
it became extremely difficult to endure, Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA migrated to Abyssinia.
Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA was
extremely generous and always looked for the ways to please Allah. It was on
the unlimited generosity of Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA that Rasulullah ﷺ gave him the title of “Talha of goodness and bounty” and
“Talha of generosity.” Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA used to support financially many
of his relatives and friends and gave generously to the poor and destitute who
cannot fend for themselves. Besides helping, he even disencumbered many with
the loans they have incurred and released people from the shackles of debt. He
even arranged for those who could not find the means to get married. Wealth
which generally is a sense of satisfaction, boast and pride for many was more
of a cause of distress for Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA.His wife narrated that one
day he looked very disturbed and distressed. On being asked he replied that his
riches and wealth is the cause of distress and said, “How can a man think of
his Lord and Sustainer when he goes to sleep with his wealth in his house?” His
wife advised him to distribute and donate all his wealth to all the needy and
the destitute. By midnight he distributed everything he had and finally slept
well with a light heart. One of the companions of Rasulullah ﷺ said, “I accompanied Talha Ibn Obaidullah on journeys and
stayed with him at home and I have not found anyone who was more generous with
money, with clothes and with food than Talha.”
Because he was sent for one of the
missions outside Madinah, Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA missed the first battle
fought for Islam, the Battle of Badr. On his return to Madinah he became upset
with the opportunity he missed to fight alongside Rasulullah ﷺ. However when he got the chance to partake in the second
battle, the Battle of Uhud, he fought valiantly and proved his mettle in the
battlefield as well. At Uhud, when the tables were turned against the Muslims
and Rasulullah ﷺ was dangerously exposed, it
was Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA who came for the rescue of Rasulullah ﷺ and repelled the Makkan fighters by fighting bravely. Talha
ibn Ubaydullah RA supported and shielded Rasulullah ﷺ with his left arm and valiantly wielded the sword by his
right hand. The incident caused Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA more than seventy
wounds over his body which eventually made him unconscious. Thereafter Rasulullah
ﷺ said, “Whoever is pleased to see a
man still walking on earth who had completed his span (of life), let him look
at Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA.” Abu Bakr As Sidique RA was very much pleased with the heroics Talha
ibn Ubaydullah RA displayed at the Battle of Uhud and whenever after that there
was a mention of Uhud, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say,
“That day, that entire day, belonged to Talha.”
During the persecution of the
Muslims in 614-616, Nawfal ibn Khuwaylid tied Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA to Abu
Bakr As Siddique RA and left them roped together. Nobody from the Taym clan
came to help. Thereafter they were known as "the Two Tied Together".
In September 622 Talha ibn
Ubaydullah RA was bringing a caravan home from Syria when he met Rasulullah ﷺ and Abu Bakr at al-Kharrar. They had escaped from Makkah and
were emigrating to Madinah. Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA gave them some Syrian
garments and mentioned that the Muslim community in Madinah had said that their
Prophet was slow to arrive. As Rasulullah ﷺ and Abu
Bakr continued to Madinah, Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA returned to Makkah to put
his affairs in order. Soon afterwards, he accompanied Abu Bakr's family to Madinah,
where he settled.[2]:164
At first he lodged with As'ad ibn
Zurarah, but later Rasulullah ﷺ gave him a block of land on
which he built his own house. He was made the brother in Islam of Sa'id ibn
Zayd.[2]:165 Talhah and Sa'id missed fighting at the Battle of Badr because Rasulullah
ﷺ sent them as scouts to locate Abu
Sufyan's caravan. However, both were awarded shares of the plunder, as if they
had been present.[2]:165
Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA
distinguished himself at the Battle of Uhud by keeping close to Rasulullah ﷺ while most of the Muslim army fled. He protected Rasulullah ﷺ 's face from an arrow by taking the shot in his own hand, as
a result of which two of his fingers were paralyzed. He was also hit twice in
the head, and it was said that he suffered a total of 75 wounds in the
battle.
Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA also fought
at the Battle of the Trench "and all the battles with Allah's
Messenger"
Ridda Wars
In the third week of July 632, Madinah
faced an imminent invasion by the apostate forces of Tulayha, a self-proclaimed
prophet. Abu Bakr as Siddique RA scraped
together an army mainly from the Hashim clan (Muhammad's), appointing Talhah,
Ali ibn Abi Talib and Zubayr ibn al-Awam as Commanders of one-third of the
newly organised force each. However, they did not face any combat scenaria
during the Ridda Wars.
Battle of the Camel and Death
Tomb of Talha Bin Ubaidallah at
Basra, Iraq
The Tomb of Talhah Ibn Ubaidullah RA, in Iraq
The Battle of the Camel was fought
between Ali on one side and Aisha, Talhah and Zubayr on the other on 10
December 656. During the battle, Marwan ibn al-Hakam, who was fighting on the
same side as Aisha, shot Talhah in the thigh. Marwan commented, "After
this I will never again seek a killer of Uthman." Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA
hugged his horse and galloped off the battle-field. He lay down using a stone
as a pillow, while the auxiliaries tried to staunch the blood-flow. Whenever
they stopped pressing, the bleeding resumed. In the end Talhah said, "Stop
it. This is an arrow sent by God." He died of this injury, aged
64.[2]:170–171
According to a hadith, Rasulullah ﷺ named Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA among the Ten Promised
Paradise (Arabic: العشرة المبشرون بالجنة;
al-`Ashara al-Mubasharūn bi-l-Janna)
The tomb of Talha ibn Ubaydullah RA
is located in Basra, Iraq. The tomb is located a large mosque with modern
architecture. The grave itself is under the cenotaph under the dome, which is
built in a similar style to the cenotaph of Anas Ibn Malik.
The mosque and tomb of Talha ibn
Ubaydullah RA was detonated by Shia Muslim militants disguised as
photographers. The militants planted bombs in the shrine, destroying the mosque
and tomb.The tomb, which is under reconstruction, is still visited by Sunnis.
Credit:Kamran Shahid Ansari /
