Urwah ibn Masud RA

 

Urwah ibn Masud RA is a semi-legendary Arab, Thaqif chieftain of Ta’if who became a companion of Rasulullah ﷺ. He was one of the first people from his tribe to accept Islam, and Urwah ibn Masud RA was killed by his fellow chieftains while preaching Islam in his home city. Urwah ibn Masud RA was a brother of Barza bint Masud, who married Safwan ibn Umayya. He was one of the notables of Arabia who entered the negotiations regarding the peace of Hudaibiyah on behalf of Quraysh. Urwah ibn Masud RA said, "I have visited the kings of Persia, Rome and Abyssinia, but I have not seen any leader more revered and respected by his people than Rasulullah ﷺ. If Rasulullah ﷺ ordered them to do anything, they do it without delay. If he performs Ablution Arabic: وُضُوء ‎, romanized: Wudūʾ they all seek the remainder of the water he used. They never look at him in the eyes, out of respect."   

In a hadith reported in Sahih Muslim, Rasulullah ﷺ mentioned that ʿĪsā Arabic: عِيسَىٰ ‎, Jesus resembled Urwah ibn Masud RA closest in appearance. By descriptions of Isa attributed to Rasulullah ﷺ, this would indicate reddish complexion, moderate height and curly, flowing hair.                         

The story of Urwah ibn Masud RA

While on the way to perform umrah in the event of the Treaty of Hudaibiyah, Urwah ibn Masud RA ats-Tasqafi was sent by the Quraish as a messenger to negotiate with the entourage of the Rasulullah ﷺ.

Urwah ibn Masud RA came from Ta’if and he was appointed as the messenger of the Quraish infidels to prevent the entourage of the Rasulullah ﷺ from performing umrah in the event of the Treaty of Hudaibiyah.

When Rasulullah ﷺ ordered his entourage to rest at Tsaniyyatul Marar, Urwah ibn Masud (before Islam) came and sat before him and said, "O Rasulullah ﷺ, you gathered all the tribes as your people. You came to the tribe of Quraysh to frighten them. Many tribes give birth to brave leaders. They swear in the name of God, so that not even an inch can enter. By God, maybe tomorrow we will allow you to enter the land of your birth. "

As is the custom of the Arabs, Urwah ibn Masud spoke to Rasulullah ﷺ while trying to reach his beard. However, his efforts were blocked by al-Mughirah while saying, "Release your hand from the Messenger of Allah. If not, I will cut off your hand and it will not be whole again. ” He said

Rasulullah ﷺ just smiled. Then Urwah ibn Masud asked, "Who is this, O Muhammad?" Rasulullah ﷺ replied, "This is your nephew, al-Mughirah bin Syu'bah RA."

Urwah said, “Is this a joke Muhammad? Hey, you! Have I not defended you for your betrayal? "Said Urwah referring to the tragedy of the murder committed by al-Mughirah in Busaq.‘  Urwah ibn Masud  was al-Mughirah uncle who also defended him for the tragedy.

Rasulullah ﷺ then replied, “I have accepted his Islam. Managing the property you are talking about. Hearing the defense of Rasulullah ﷺ, Urwah ibn Masud also stopped judging Al-Mughirah.

Urwah ibn Masud RA then witnessed how loyal the companions were to him. If Rasulullah ﷺ performs ablution, they immediately perform ablution. When Rasulullah ﷺ spat, they immediately cleaned it. Not a single hair of his king fell except they must have picked it up.

Then Urwah ibn Masud RA returned to the Quraish and said, "O people of Quraysh, indeed I have visited Kisra, Persia, and an-Najasyi in their palaces, but I did not find any king who unfortunately outnumbered Muhammad's pity on his followers, so that his followers submit whatever he asks for. Get rid of your bad prejudices. ”

Urwah ibn Masud said so because the Quraish infidels thought that the arrival of Rasulullah ﷺ was to fight, but after seeing how the companions treated the Rasulullah ﷺ, he knew that the Rasulullah ﷺ was a man of noble character. Urwah has witnessed how respectful and loyal the companions were to Rasulullah ﷺ. Urwah words:

"By Allah, Rasulullah ﷺ did not throw saliva unless it fell on the palm of one of them, so he rubbed it on his own face and skin. If Rasulullah ﷺ ordered them, then they immediately did it. If he performs ablution, then they almost fight because they are fighting for his ablution water container. If he speaks, then they lower their voices and they do not dare to look at his face directly because they are so respectful of him. ” (Sahih Hadith Bukhari Volume 3. Hadith Number 1255, - Topic of the Treaty of Hudaibiyah)

Urwah bin Mas'ud had visited many great kingdoms at that time but he never saw such a great honor as given by the companions to Rasulullah ﷺ. Urwah ibn Masud  was so impressed with the appearance and morals of Rasulullah ﷺ that he believed that the arrival of Rasulullah ﷺ to Mecca was not intended for war. Therefore, he also told the Quraysh infidels to get rid of their prejudices.

In short, after the Muslims won the battle of Hunain, Urwah bin Mas'ud was given guidance by Allah SWT to embrace Islam. So he left Mecca and went to Medina to meet Rasulullah ﷺ.

After meeting with Rasulullah ﷺ, Urwah ibn Masud RA pledged to embrace Islam and then, asked the permission of Rasulullah ﷺ to return to Ta’if to preach and convey the call of Islam to his people. Although Rasulullah ﷺ had forbidden Urwah ibn Masud RA from returning to Ta’if, Urwah ibn Masud RA was so determined to return and deliver the message to his people.

Because Urwah ibn Masud RA had tasted the sweetness of faith while with Rasulullah ﷺ, then he also said:

"O Messenger of Allah, allow me to return to my people, I will surely invite them to convert to Islam. By Allah, I do not think anyone deserves to be left behind (embracing) this religion. I will come to my friends with the best ‘innate’. Indeed, the messenger who comes to a people is the one who comes to bring what you teach. You, O Messenger of Allah, have indeed led in many instances. "

Urwah ibn Masud RA can't wait to go home immediately to preach to his people. Finally, Rasulullah ﷺ allowed Urwah to return to Ta’if to preach to his people. So Urwah ibn Masud RA immediately returned to Ta’if and reached his house at the time of Isyak. When Urwah ibn Masud RA arrived at his house, Urwah ibn Masud RA was greeted by his people and given the ignorant greetings commonly uttered by the Thaqif people. Urwah immediately told them, "Let you greet with greetings Assalamualaikum ..."

Ta'if is a low-lying Valley in South East of Makkah, now a known area for agricultural products, fruits, 

vegetables, and others in the Peninsula of Arabia.

Urwah ibn Masud RA’s friends were surprised to hear the words and then they scolded and scolded him but Urwah ibn Masud RA still treated them gently and respectfully. Urwah ibn Masud RA said:

“O my people, do you accuse me of nonsense? Do you not know that among you I am the best in his lineage, the richest, and the strongest in his family? There is nothing that drives me to convert to Islam other than I see a good thing that no one should be left behind from following it. Accept my advice! Do not disobey! By Allah, no messenger comes to a people who are more important than the messenger I brought to you. ”

Thus, some figures of the Bani Tsaqif also gathered to determine further action against Urwah ibn Masud RA which he considered to have apostatized.

As dawn approached, Urwah ibn Masud RA went up to the top of his house and chanted the call to prayer. So the people went out to his house and threw stones and shot Urwah ibn Masud RA who was calling for the call to prayer. One of the arrows of the Bani Malik was hit and wounded Urwah ibn Masud RA. Seeing this situation, some relatives of Urwah ibn Masud RA prepared weapons for the Bani Malik  retaliation, but Urwah ibn Masud RA forbade them to do so and said:

“Do not fight with each other because of my life! I have given my blood to those who hurt me, so that you may keep the peace. Indeed, this is the glory that Allah has bestowed on me, which is martyrdom. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. He has told me that you will kill me. So bury me with the martyrs' who died while fighting with the Messenger of Allah. "Urwah said in the last moments before his death.

 “Rasulullah ﷺ once mentioned that Urwah bin Mas'ud RA was the most similar person to Prophet Isa as”.

Narrated in Sahih Muslim (no. 244),

This is the story of Urwah bin Mas'ud, an enemy of Islam at first but succeeded in martyrdom at the end of his life. The story of Urwah ibn Masud RA has set an example for Muslims throughout the ages to continue preaching with wisdom and patience despite having to go through difficulties.

This story has also taught us that not all non-Muslims will die as infidels. There are those who initially opposed Islam but eventually were willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of this noble religion.

The responsibility of a Muslim is to call and give advice. We do not have to hate or be hostile to anyone, especially non-Muslims. In fact, non-Muslims are not our enemies; our most obvious enemy is the ignorance that leads to bad morals that will keep people away from the teachings of Islam.

SYAHID - URWAH BIN MAS’UD: ISLAMIC BANI THAQIF (27 RAMADHAN 9H).

After Urwah ibn Masud RA became Muslim, he returned to Ta’if and preached about Islam to his people. But his people didn’t like that he was Muslim and struck him with arrows.

THE RETURN OF Rasulullah ﷺ FROM THE FIELD OF Tabuk was warmly welcomed by the believers, but was an insult to the hypocrites who conspired with Rome to attack Islam. The arrival of Rasulullah ﷺ was apparently extended by Allah SWT because it was immediately visited by Bani Th

aqif, one of the people who insulted Rasulullah ﷺ a decade ago, when da'wah was developed in Taif. Due to the failure of da'wah in Ta’if, Rasulullah ﷺ migrated to Yathrib, the city now known as Madinah.

Taif, a low-lying agricultural city in southeastern Makkah became the choice of Rasulullah ﷺ in his mission. It stems from a leader of the Bani Thaqif in Ta’if who had married a Quraish woman, while the Rasulullah ﷺ's own ancestor, Hashim bin Abdul Manaf, also had a wife from the Bani Salim who lived in Ta’if. They were expected by Rasulullah ﷺ to accept Islam. Bani Thaqif is the grandson of Amr bin Umair bin Auf bin Aqdah bin Ghirah bin Auf bin Thaqif. They are the main leaders of the people of Ta’if.

 

Reflect: The Failure of Da’wah to Ta’if:

May God grant prayers of Rasulullah ﷺ

After the death of Abu Talib bin Abdul Muttalib and Saidatuna Khadijah bint Khuwailid RA, Rasulullah ﷺ felt very sad, at the same time the Quraish began to disrupt the work of da'wah after the himayah (protection) from Abu Talib was gone. Rasulullah ﷺ tried to get help from Bani Thaqif in Ta’if, thus spreading his da'wah there. But the efforts of Rasulullah ﷺ failed when the leaders of Ta’if three brothers, Abdu Yalil, Mas'ud and Habib bin Amr bin Umair bin Auf rejected the mission of Rasulullah ﷺ. They instead planned to do evil to Rasulullah ﷺ but worried that the Quraysh would take revenge, then hired stupid people to drive away and curse Rasulullah ﷺ until Rasulullah ﷺ came out of Ta’if. It was in this event that Rasulullah ﷺ met a Christian youth named Addas in the garden belonging to Utbah bin Rabiah.

 While in this garden, Rasulullah ﷺ was approached by Jibrail who asked permission to act on the people of Ta’if, but Rasulullah ﷺ refused it because he expected from the sulbi they were born believers. On the other hand, Rasulullah ﷺ prayed, "O Allah, give guidance to my people, indeed they do not know." It is narrated that, in addition to Addas who believed in Rasulullah ﷺ, also a believer was a delegation of Jin Nashibin who met with Rasulullah ﷺ in Nakhlah. They have believed and called on the jinn to believe in Rasulullah ﷺ. After 10 days in Ta’if, Rasulullah ﷺ returned to Makkah in the hope that the Bani Thaqif would believe in Allah one day.

Bani Thaqif came to Rasulullah ﷺ and accepted Islam

Ibn Ishaq RA noted that when Rasulullah ﷺ went to Madinah from Tabuk, Rasulullah ﷺ was visited by the leader of the Bani Thaqif, Urwah bin Mas'ud as-Tsaqafi. He was the son of Mas'ud bin Amr bin Umair at-Tsaqafi who had rejected the preaching of Rasulullah ﷺ in Ta’if before. After he converted to Islam, he was ordered to invite his people to Islam. On the 27th of Ramadhan 9H, Urwah bin Mas'ud arrived in Ta’if and invited his people to Islam, suddenly he was shot while calling to Islam, then martyred. Because of the martyrdom of Urwah bin Mas'ud, the people of Ta’if met and agreed to convert to Islam. They sent Abdu Yalil bin Amr with the leaders of Bani Malik, Bani Yasar, Bani Salim, and Bani al-Harith to meet Rasulullah ﷺ in the month of Ramadan as well.

Starting with the Islam of the Bani Thaqif and the people of Ta’if, then in the period after the return from Tabuk saw the Arab tribes flocked to Islam until the descent of Surah al-Fath, and the year 9H was called the Year of Delegation because many Arab tribes came to embrace Islam. Among the important tribes that embraced Islam were Bani Tamim, Bani Saad bin Bakr, Bani Abdul Qais, Bani Khanifah, Thayyi Tribe, Hamdan Tribe, Bani Zubaid, Bani Kindah, Bani Jurasy, Roman governor Farwah bin Amir, Najran and Himyar kings. . Until the demised of Rasulullah ﷺ on Rabiul Awal 10H, the entire territory of Arabia has been subject to Islam.