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Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه

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بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيْمِ 

 اَلْحَمْدُ للّٰهِ رَبِّ العَالَمِيْنَ وَالصَّلاَةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلىَ اَشْرَفِ اْللأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالْمُرْسَلِيْنَ سَيِّدِناَ وَمَوْلٰنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى اٰلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ اَجْمَعِيْنَ، اَمَّا بَعْدُ. 

Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه was a chieftain of the Khazraj and therefore a man of considerable influence in Yathrib. He was known for the sharpness of his mind and the power of his oratory. It was because of this that he became the khatib or the spokesman and orator of Rasulullahصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِۦ وَسَلَّمَ and Islam.

Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه became a Muslim at the hands of Musab ibn Umayrرضي الله عنه whose cool and persuasive logic and the sweetness and beauty of his Quran recital proved irresistible.

When Rasulullahصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِۦ وَسَلَّمَ arrived in Madinah after the historic Hijrah, Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه and a great gathering of horsemen gave him a warm and enthusiastic welcome. Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه acted as their spokesman and delivered a speech in the presence of Rasulullahصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِۦ وَسَلَّمَ and his companion, Saiyidina Abu Bakr As Sidique   رضي الله عنه . Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه began by giving praise to God Almighty and invoking peace and blessings on His Rasulullahصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِۦ وَسَلَّمَ and ended up by saying:

"We give our pledge to you, O Messenger of God, that we would protect you from all that we protect ourselves, our children, and our wives. What would then be our reward for this?"

The speech was reminiscent of words spoken at the second Pledge of Aqabah and Rasulullahصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِۦ وَسَلَّمَt's reply then was the same: "Al-Jannah - Paradise!"

When the Yathribites heard the word "al-Jannah" their faces beamed with happiness and excitement and their response was: "We are pleased, O Messenger of God! We are pleased, O Messenger of God ."

From that day on Rasulullahصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِۦ وَسَلَّمَ, made Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه his Khatib, just as Hassan ibn Thabitرضي الله عنه was his poet. When delegations of Arabs came to him to show off their brilliance in verse and the strength of their oratory skills which the Arabs took great pride in, the Prophet would call upon Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه to challenge their orators and Hassan ibn Thabitرضي الله عنه to vaunt his verses before their poets.

In the Year of the Delegations, the ninth after the Hijrah, tribes from all over the Arabian peninsula came to Madinah to pay homage to Rasulullahصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِۦ وَسَلَّمَ,, either to announce their acceptance of Islam or to pay jizyah in return for the protection of the Muslim state. One of these was a delegation from the tribe of Tamim who said to Rasulullahصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِۦ وَسَلَّمَ,:

"We have come to show our prowess to you. Do give permission to our Shaif and our Khatib to speak." Rasulullahصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِۦ وَسَلَّمَ,, smiled and said: "I permit your Khatib. Let him speak."

Their orator, Utarid ibn Hajibرضي الله عنه, got up and held forth on the greatness and achievements of their tribe and when he was finished Rasulullahصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِۦ وَسَلَّمَ summoned Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنهand said: "Stand and reply to him." Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه arose and said:

"Praise be to God Whose creation is the entire heavens and the earth wherein His will has been made manifest. His Throne is the extent of His knowledge and there is nothing which does not exist through His grace.

"Through His power, He has made us leaders and from the best of His creation, He has chosen a Messenger who is the most honorable of men in lineage, the most reliable and true in speech, and the most excellent in deeds. He has revealed to him a book and chosen him as a leader of His creation. Among all creation, he is a blessing of God.

"He summoned people to have faith in Him. The Immigrants from among his people and his relations who are the most honorable in esteem and the best in deeds believed in him. Then, we the Ansar (Helpers) were the first people to respond (to his call for support). So we are the Helpers of God and the ministers of His Messenger."

Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه was a believer with a profound faith in God. His consciousness and fear of God were true and strong. Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه was especially sensitive and cautious of saying or doing anything that would incur the wrath of God Almighty. One day Rasulullahصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِۦ وَسَلَّمَ saw him looking not just sad but dejected and afraid. His shoulders were hunched and he was actually cringing from fear.

"What's wrong with you, O Abu Muhammad?" asked Rasulullahصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِۦ وَسَلَّمَ. "I fear that I might be destroyed, O Messenger of God," he said. "And why?" asked Rasulullahصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِۦ وَسَلَّمَ. "God Almighty," he said, "has prohibited us from desiring to be praised for what we did not do but I find myself liking praise. He has prohibited us from being proud and I find myself tending towards vanity." This was the time when the verse of the Quran was revealed: "Indeed, God does not love any arrogant boaster."

Rasulullahصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِۦ وَسَلَّمَ, then tried to calm his anxieties and allay his fears and eventually said to him: "O Thabit, aren't you pleased to live as someone who is praised, and to die as a martyr and to enter Paradise?"

Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه's face beamed with happiness and joy as he said: "Certainly, O Messenger of God." "Indeed, that shall be yours," replied the noble Rasulullahصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِۦ وَسَلَّمَ.

There was another occasion when Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه became sad and crest-fallen when the words of the Quran were revealed:

"O you who believe! Raise not your voices above the voice of Rasulullahصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِۦ وَسَلَّمَ and neither speak loudly to him as you would speak loudly to one another, lest all your deeds come to naught without your perceiving it."

On hearing these words, Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه kept away from the meetings and gatherings of the Prophet despite his great love for him and his hitherto constant presence in his company. Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه stayed in his house almost without ever leaving it except for the performance of the obligatory Salat. Rasulullahصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِۦ وَسَلَّمَ missed his presence and evidently asked for information about him. A man from the Ansar volunteered and went to Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه house. He found Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه sitting in his house, sad and dejected, with his head bowed low.

"What's the matter with you?" asked the man. "It's bad," replied Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه. "You know that I am a man with a loud voice and that my voice is far louder than that of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace. And you know what has been revealed in the Quran. The only result for me is that my deeds will come to naught and I will be among the people who go to the fire of hell."

The man returned to Rasulullahصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِۦ وَسَلَّمَ and told him what he had seen and heard and Rasulullahصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِۦ وَسَلَّمَ instructed him to return to Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه and say: "You are not among the people who will go to the fire of hell but you will be among the people of Paradise."

Such was the tremendously good news with which Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه was blessed. The incidents showed how alive and sensitive Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه was to Rasulullahصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِۦ وَسَلَّمَ and the commands of Islam and his readiness to observe the letter and the spirit of its laws. Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه subjected himself to the most stringent self-criticism. Thabit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه was a God-fearing and penitent heart that trembled and shook through the fear of God.




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