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| Saiyidina Abu Basir RA / Illustration Only |
Abu Basir(رضئ اللہ تعالی عنہ)
Abu Basir (R.A).
Abu Bashir RA, his real name is
Utbah bin Usaid bin Jariyah at-Tsaqafi. Allies of Bani Zahra. He converted to
Islam after the treaty of Hudaibiyah. He came with Abu Jandal bin Suhail bin
Amr and the people who embraced Islam. They came when Rasulullah ﷺ was making an agreement with the polytheists of Makkan. They
entered Madinah without sacrificing the Treaty of Hudaibiyah which had been
agreed upon by Rasulullah ﷺ with Makkan. Here is the
story of one of the companions of Rasulullah ﷺ..
After the Treaty of Hudaibiyah had
been agreed upon, the first Muslim to leave Makkah Sharif for Madinah Sharif
was an elderly Sahabat by the name of Abu Basir (R.A). The Musyrikin Makkah
dispatched two people to demand from Rasulullah ﷺ that he be
returned to the city. Rasulullah ﷺ said to
the Companion, “You should go back to Makkah, as you know there is an agreement
between us (Muslims and the Musyrikin of
Makkah) and breaking any promises is not allowed in Islam.”
Abu Basir (R.A). Asked, “Ya
Rasulullah ﷺ are you handing me over to
such Kuffar who’ll force me back into Shirk and Kufr?”. Rasulullah ﷺ replied, “Go to Makkah, Allah (S.W.T) shall find a way to
deliver you from them”. Abu Basir (R.A), accepted this and headed back to
Makkah Sharif, along with two Musyrikin.
When the three reached Zul-Hulaifah
(an area outside Madinah Sharif/ also known as Bir Ali), they stopped to rest
and eat. As they began to talk to one another, Abu Basir (R.A) said, “Your
sword is surely a piece of art.” The Musyrikin heard this and became happy,
thereafter removing the sword from its case to show Abu Basir (R.A). The Sahabat
further asked, “Give it to me so that I may get a better understanding of its splendor.”
He handed over the sword to Abu
Basir (R.A). who immediately severed his head with such force that it flew some
distance from his body. When the other musyirikin saw this gruesome scene he
ran as fast as he could to Madinah Sharif and rushed to enter Masjid-un-Nabawi
Sharif. Seeing him, Rasulullah ﷺ said that this person seems
to be afraid of something.
The musyirikin said, “My companion
was killed by Abu Basir (R.A). and so would I have been as well.” Abu Basir
(R.A). Suddenly entered the court of Rasulullah ﷺ armed with
a sword and said, “O Rasulullah ﷺ), Allah
(S.W.T) has fulfilled your responsibility. According to the agreement, it was
obligatory upon you to return me back to Makkah, which you had done. Now
however, it is the blessings of Allah (S.W.T) that He has saved me from the
grasp of the disbelievers.” Rasulullah ﷺ became
disturbed with this incident and resentfully said, “May his mother be lost for
him; he shall surely incite fighting! It would have been better if someone had
been there to stop him.”
Abu Basir RA understood that he
would be returned to the musyirikin of Makkah and therefore began to slowly
move away from the gathering and began his journey to Ais (a place near the sea
coast).
Incidentally, Abu Jandal RA and
other oppressed individuals were able to free themselves from the shackles of
the musyirikin in Makkah and had also sought refuge in Ais. This jungle of Ais
had become the domain for a group of 70 people and was also travelled upon by
the musyirikin of the Quraish for business. Their caravans were looted to such
extents by this group of 70 that the Musyirikin of Makkah were forced to write
a letter to Rasulullah ﷺ pleading to Him to accept their
giving up of the clause in the treaty (which was the cause of Abu Basir (R.A)
coming to Ais), stating, “Please call your followers from the coast to Madinah.
You have our permission to keep in the city whoever flees from Makkah. We don’t
object to it in any way.”
(Bukhari Sharif, Vol. 1, Pg. 380)
Rasulullah ﷺ ordered that a letter be written and given to Abu Basir (R.A)
instructing him to return to Madinah Sharif with his group of Muslims from Ais.
The letter had unfortunately reached Abu Basir (R.A) a short while before his
demise; the Sahabat took it, placed it on his head and eyes and thereafter
passed away. Abu Jandal (R.A) made the preparations for burial with his
Companions (R.A), buried him and built a Masjid nearby as a remembrance, then
on the command of Rasulullah ﷺ, left with the others to
take up residence in Madinah Sharif.
Time elapsed...
Heard the news of the congregation
of the companions sent by Rasulullah ﷺ to Madinah
Al Munawarah. Chase the children and their families to welcome their husbands,
fathers, brothers, families. Not to be outdone, the child was among his friends
who also ran after him to welcome his father. He bravely sat with his father
entering Madinah towards the Prophet's Mosque. Sitting on his father's lap, he
met Rasulullah ﷺ to give a report. It was as
if he did not want to part with the only place he was happy now, his father.
Rasulullah ﷺ heard all the reports and then He decided that some of them
come out again including Abu Bashir RA. "O Messenger of Allah, have you
heard that this child has just died his mother?" Abu Bashir RA asked.
So Abu Bashir RA left the child
with the belief that Allah SWT is the Great Protector. Leaving a child who
should be happy, play merrily and be in the warmth of parental love.
"Go you, all the families in Madinah
are his family," replied Rasulullah ﷺ.
The child took turns moving from
one house to another, longing and sadly waiting for the father to return. Every
day after Maghrib he went out and looked at the sky that stretched wide with
the moon itself pensive.
"O true moon we are the same.
I am alone on this earth and you alone in the sky there," said the child
softly "...
Time elapsed...
A plume of dust rose into the air,
the roar of horses running through space. One by one the rider's face was seen,
he searched, "Where is dad?" Ah ... maybe the horse is moving too
fast. The boy ran into the mosque leaving his peers who had met their father.
He stood in front hoping to meet his beloved father. Rasulullah ﷺ grabbed him, sat him on his lap while listening to the
report from his friends who had just returned. The Muslims have obtained
victory from Allah SWT.
"O Messenger of Allah, indeed
Abu Bashir RA, the father of the child has been martyred ..."
The atmosphere turned sad when the
child started crying, Rasulullah ﷺ comforted
him,
"O Ghulam ... Do you not like
when I become your father, 'Aisyah becomes your mother and Fatimah becomes your
sister ...?"
(Madaarij, Vol. 2, Pg. 218)
The Truce of Hudaybiyah and the Story
of Abu Basir (R.A).
In the 6th year of Hijrah, Rasulullah
ﷺ along with his Sahabah left for
Makkah to perform Umrah. The Quraish heard of the news and decided to resist
his entry into Makkah even as a pilgrim, so he had to encamp at Hudaybiyah. The
devoted Sahabah, 1 400 in number, were however determined to enter even if it
involved an open fight. Rasulullah ﷺ viewed the
matter differently and in spite of the Sahabah’s eagerness to fight, he entered
into a treaty with the Musyirikin Quraish, accepting their conditions in full.
This one-sided and seemingly
ungraceful truce was a very bitter pill for the Sahabah to swallow, but their
devotion to Rasulullah ﷺ would not allow them to
object and even the most valiant man like Saiyidina Umar Al Khattab RA had to
submit to his decision. According to one of the articles of the treaty, converts
to Islam during the period of the truce were to be returned to the Musyirikin Quraish,
but deserters from Muslims to Quraish will not be returned to the Muslims, Abu Basir (R.A), a Muslim in Makkah, was
suffering great persecution at the hands of the Quraish.
They kept him constantly in chains.
On hearing about the arrival of Rasulullah ﷺ in Hudaybiyah, he somehow escaped and managed to reach the
Muslim camp at a time when the truce was about to be signed. His father Suhail
(till then a non-Muslim), was the envoy of Quraish in the negotiations for the
truce. He smote Abu Jandal RA on his face and insisted on taking him back to
Makkah. Rasulullah ﷺ said that, since the truce
had not been written till then, its application in Abu Jandal’s RA case was
premature.
However, Suhail would not listen to
any argument and was not prepared to leave his son with the Muslims even at the
personal request of Rasulullah ﷺ and would have even forgone
the truce. Abu Jandal RA , describing his hardships, protested at the top of
his voice but much to the grief of the Sahabah, Rasulullah ﷺ agreed to his return
However, Rasulullah ﷺ enjoined patience on him saying: “Oh! Abu Jandal RA , do not
be distressed, Allah will shortly open a way for you.” After the truce was
signed and Rasulullah ﷺ had returned to Madinah,
another Makkan Muslim Abu Basir RA escaped to Madinah and besought Rasulullah ﷺ protection. Rasulullah ﷺ refused to
accept his request and in accordance to the truce condition, handed him over to
the two persons who had been sent by the Quraish to claim him.
However, he advised him as he had
advised Abu Jandal RA to be patient and to hope for the help of Allah. When Abu
Basir RA and his musyirikin escort were on their way back to Makkah, Abu Basir RA
said to one of them: “Friend, your sword is extremely fine.” The man was
flattered and took it out from its sheath and said: “Yes it is really very
fine, and I have tried it on so many persons. You can have a look at it.” He
most foolishly made over the sword to Abu Basir RA, who immediately used it on
its owner and killed him.
The other escort took to his heels and reached Madinah to
report to Rasulullah ﷺ. In the meantime Abu Basir RA
also arrived. He said to Nabi; “Oh Rasulullah ﷺ!, you once
returned me and absolved yourself of the truce obligations. I had no
obligations to fulfil and I managed my escape from them by this trick, as I was
afraid of their forcing me to forsake Deen.” Rasulullah ﷺ remarked: “You are a
war-monger. I wish you could be helped.”
Abu Basir RA understood from this
that he would be returned to the Quraish again when they demanded him.
Therefore, he left Madinah and fled to a place in the desert on the sea shore.
Abu Jandal RA also managed to escape and joined him there. More Muslims of
Makkah followed and in a few days quite a small group of such fugitives
gathered in the wilderness. They had to undergo untold sufferings in the
desert, where there was neither habitation nor vegetation.
However, being bound by no treaty,
they proved a great nuisance to the Quraish by dealing blows after blows on
their caravans passing that way. This forced the Quraish to approach Rasulullah
ﷺ and request him to intervene and
call the fugitives to Madinah, so that they might be bound by the terms of the
treaty like other Muslims and the caravans might pass in safety.
It is said
that Abu Basir RA was on his death bed when the letter sent by Rasulullah ﷺ permitting his return to Madinah reached him. He died while
holding Rasulullah ﷺ letter in his hand. No power
on the earth can make a person give up his faith, provided it is a true faith.
Moreover, Allah has promised to help those who are genuine Muslims.
