Umar’s [RA] Leadership (Hadith No. 2689)

Bismillah.

Ahadith 2686 – 2688 (below) are repeats. See linked text for related posts.

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 290 :
Narrated by Ibn ‘Umar (radiallaahu `anhu)
Umar (radiallaahu `anhu) and a group of the companions of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) set out with the Prophet to Ibn Saiyad. He found him playing with some boys near the hillocks of Bani Maghala. Ibn Saiyad at that time was nearing his puberty. He did not notice (the Prophet’s presence) till the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) stroked him on the back with his hand and said, “Ibn Saiyad! Do you testify that I am Allah’s Apostle?” Ibn Saiyad looked at him and said, “I testify that you are the Apostle of the illiterates.” Then Ibn Saiyad asked the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam), “Do you testify that I am the apostle of Allah?” The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said to him, “I believe in Allah and His Apostles.” Then the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said (to Ibn Saiyad). “What do you see?” Ibn Saiyad replied, “True people and false ones visit me.” The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Your mind is confused as to this matter.” The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) added, ” I have kept something (in my mind) for you.” Ibn Saiyad said, “It is Ad-Dukh.” The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said (to him), “Shame be on you! You cannot cross your limits.” On that ‘Umar (radiallaahu `anhu) said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Allow me to chop his head off.” The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “If he should be him (i.e. Ad-Dajjal) then you cannot overpower him, and should he not be him, then you are not going to benefit by murdering him.”

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 290 :
Narrated by Ibn Umar (radiallaahu `anhu)
(Later on) Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) (once again) went along with Ubai bin Ka’b (radiallaahu `anhu) to the garden of date-palms where Ibn Saiyad was staying. When the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) entered the garden, he started hiding himself behind the trunks of the date-palms as he wanted to hear something from the Ibn Saiyad before the latter could see him. Ibn Saiyad was lying in his bed, covered with a velvet sheet from where his murmurs were heard. Ibn Saiyad’s mother saw the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) while he was hiding himself behind the trunks of the date-palms. She addressed Ibn Saiyad, “O Saf!” (And this was his name). Ibn Saiyad got up. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Had this woman let him to himself, he would have revealed the reality of his case.” Then the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) got up amongst the people, glorifying Allah as He deserves, he mentioned Ad-Dajjal, saying, “I warn you about him (i.e. Ad-Dajjal) and there is no prophet who did not warn his nation about him, and Noah warned his nation about him, but I tell you a statement which no prophet informed his nation of. You should understand that he is a one-eyed man and Allah is not one-eyed.”

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 291 :
Narrated by Usama bin Zaid (radiallaahu `anhu)
I asked the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) during his Hajj, “O Allah’s Apostle! Where will you stay tomorrow?” He said, “Has Aqil left for us any house?” He then added, “Tomorrow we will stay at Khaif Bani Kinana, i.e. Al-Muhassab, where (the Pagans of) Quraish took an oath of Kufr (i.e. to be loyal to heathenism) in that Bani Kinana got allied with Quraish against Bani Hashim on the terms that they would not deal with the members of the is tribe or give them shelter.” (Az-Zuhri said, “Khaif means valley.”) (See Hadith No. 659, Vol. 2)

Today’s Hadith:

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 292 :
Narrated by Aslam
Umar bin Al-Khattab (radiallaahu `anhu) appointed a freed slave of his, called Hunai, manager of the Hima (i.e. a pasture devoted for grazing the animals of the Zakat or other specified animals). He said to him, “O Hunai! Don’t oppress the Muslims and ward off their curse (invocations against you) for the invocation of the oppressed is responded to (by Allah); and allow the shepherd having a few camels and those having a few sheep (to graze their animals), and take care not to allow the livestock of ‘Abdur-Rahman bin ‘Auf and the livestock of (‘Uthman) bin ‘Affan (radiallaahu `anhumaa), for if their livestock should perish, then they have their farms and gardens, while those who own a few camels and those who own a few sheep, if their livestock should perish, would bring their dependents to me and appeal for help saying, ‘O chief of the believers! O chief of the believers!’ Would I then neglect them? (No, of course). So, I find it easier to let them have water and grass rather than to give them gold and silver (from the Muslims’ treasury). By Allah, these people think that I have been unjust to them. This is their land, and during the pre-lslamic period, they fought for it and they embraced Islam (willingly) while it was in their possession. By Him in Whose Hand my life is! Were it not for the animals (in my custody) which I give to be ridden for striving in Allah’s Cause, I would not have turned even a span of their land into a Hima.”

Look at Umar’s (radiallaahu `anhu) instructions to his freed slave.. he’s asking him to prefer the weak and poor over the rich and powerful. Everything he did in his caliphate speaks volumes about his wisdom and remarkable justice. He raised the bar to such heights for all future leaders of the ummah. Has anyone even come close yet?

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Praying Two Nawaafil Before Being Killed – Whose Sunnah is it? (Hadith No. 2678)

Bismillah.

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 281 :
Narrated by Abu Huraira
Allah’s Apostle sent a Sariya of ten men as spies under the leadership of ‘Asim bin Thabit al-Ansari, the grandfather of ‘Asim bin Umar Al-Khattab. They proceeded till they reached Hadaa, a place between ‘Usfan, and Mecca, and their news reached a branch of the tribe of Hudhail called Bani Lihyan. About two-hundred men, who were all archers, hurried to follow their tracks till they found the place where they had eaten dates they had brought with them from Medina. They said, “These are the dates of Yathrib (i.e. Medina), “and continued following their tracks. When ‘Asim and his companions saw their pursuers, they went up a high place and the infidels circled them. The infidels said to them, “Come down and surrender, and we promise and guarantee you that we will not kill any one of you” ‘Asim bin Thabit; the leader of the Sariya said, “By Allah! I will not come down to be under the protection of infidels. O Allah! Convey our news to Your Prophet. Then the infidels threw arrows at them till they martyred ‘Asim along with six other men, and three men came down accepting their promise and convention, and they were Khubaib-al-Ansari and Ibn Dathina and another man So, when the infidels captured them, they undid the strings of their bows and tied them. Then the third (of the captives) said, “This is the first betrayal. By Allah! I will not go with you. No doubt these, namely the martyred, have set a good example to us.” So, they dragged him and tried to compel him to accompany them, but as he refused, they killed him. They took Khubaib and Ibn Dathina with them and sold them (as slaves) in Mecca (and all that took place) after the battle of Badr. Khubaib was bought by the sons of Al-Harith bin ‘Amir bin Naufal bin ‘Abd Manaf. It was Khubaib who had killed Al-Harith bin ‘Amir on the day (of the battle of) Badr. So, Khubaib remained a prisoner with those people. Narrated Az-Zuhri: ‘Ubaidullah bin ‘Iyyad said that the daughter of Al-Harith had told him, “When those people gathered (to kill Khubaib) he borrowed a razor from me to shave his pubes and I gave it to him. Then he took a son of mine while I was unaware when he came upon him. I saw him placing my son on his thigh and the razor was in his hand. I got scared so much that Khubaib noticed the agitation on my face and said, ‘Are you afraid that I will kill him? No, I will never do so.’ By Allah, I never saw a prisoner better than Khubaib. By Allah, one day I saw him eating of a bunch of grapes in his hand while he was chained in irons, and there was no fruit at that time in Mecca.” The daughter of Al-Harith used to say, “It was a boon Allah bestowed upon Khubaib.” When they took him out of the Sanctuary (of Mecca) to kill him outside its boundaries, Khubaib requested them to let him offer two Rakat (prayer). They allowed him and he offered Two Rakat and then said, “Hadn’t I been afraid that you would think that I was afraid (of being killed), I would have prolonged the prayer. O Allah, kill them all with no exception.” (He then recited the poetic verse):– “I being martyred as a Muslim, Do not mind how I am killed in Allah’s Cause, For my killing is for Allah’s Sake, And if Allah wishes, He will bless the amputated parts of a torn body” Then the son of Al Harith killed him. So, it was Khubaib who set the tradition for any Muslim sentenced to death in captivity, to offer a two-Rak’at prayer (before being killed). Allah fulfilled the invocation of Asim bin Thabit on that very day on which he was martyred. The Prophet informed his companions of their news and what had happened to them. Later on when some infidels from Quraish were informed that Asim had been killed, they sent some people to fetch a part of his body (i.e. his head) by which he would be recognized. (That was because) ‘Asim had killed one of their chiefs on the day (of the battle) of Badr. So, a swarm of wasps, resembling a shady cloud, were sent to hover over Asim and protect him from their messenger and thus they could not cut off anything from his flesh.

Isn’t it a beautiful end to a beautiful story? Here are the original verses of Khubaib’s (radiallaahu `anhu) poetry that he said before being martyred:

“I being martyred as a Muslim, Do not mind how I am killed in Allah’s Cause, For my killing is for Allah’s Sake, And if Allah wishes, He will bless the amputated parts of a torn body.”

Invocation Against Enemies of Islam (Ahadith 2577 – 2585)

Bismillah.

Hadith no. 2576 (below) is a repeat. Read it here.

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 181 :
Narrated by Abu Ishaq
A man asked Al-Bara’ (radiallaahu `anhu), “O Abu ‘Umara! Did you all flee on the day (of the battle) of Hunain?” He replied, “No, by Allah! Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) did not flee, but his young unarmed companions passed by the archers of the tribe of Hawazin and Bani Nasr whose arrows hardly missed a target, and they threw arrows at them hardly missing a shot. So the Muslims retreated towards the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) while he was riding his white mule which was being led by his cousin Abu Sufyan bin Al-Harith bin ‘Abdul Muttalib. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) dismounted and invoked Allah for victory; then he said, ‘I am the Prophet, without a lie; I am the son of ‘Abdul Muttalib, and then he arranged his companions in rows.”

Today’s Ahadith:

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 182 :
Narrated by ‘Ali (radiallaahu `anhu)
When it was the day of the battle of Al-Ahzab (i.e. the clans), Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “O Allah! Fill their (i.e. the infidels’) houses and graves with fire as they busied us so much that we did not perform the prayer (i.e. ‘Asr) till the sun set.”

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 183 :
Narrated by Abu Huraira (radiallaahu `anhu)
The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) used to recite the following invocations during Qunut: “O Allah! Save Salama bin Hisham. O Allah! Save Al-Walid bin Al-Walid. O Allah! Save ‘Aiyash bin Rabi’a O Allah ! Save the weak Muslims. O Allah! Be very hard on Mudar tribe. O Allah! Afflict them with years (of famine) similar to the (famine) years of the time of Prophet Joseph.”

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 184 :
Narrated by ‘Abdullah bin Abi Aufa (radiallaahu `anhu)
Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) invoked evil upon the pagans on the day (of the battle) of Al-Ahzab, saying, “O Allah! The Revealer of the Holy Book, the Swift-Taker of Accounts, O Allah, defeat Al-Ahzab (i.e. the clans), O Allah, defeat them and shake them.”

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 185 :
Narrated by Abdullah (radiallaahu `anhu)
Once the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) was offering the prayer in the shade of the Ka’ba. Abu Jahl and some Quraishi men sent somebody to bring the abdominal contents of a she-camel which had been slaughtered somewhere in Mecca, and when he brought them, they put them over the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam). Then Fatima (i.e. the Prophet’s daughter) came and threw them away from him, and he said, “O Allah! Destroy (the pagans of) Quraish; O Allah! Destroy Quraish; O Allah Destroy Quraish,” naming especially Abu Jahl bin Hisham, ‘Utba bin Rabi’a, Shaiba bin Rabi’a, Al Walid bin ‘Utba, Ubai bin Khalaf and ‘Uqba bin Abi Mitt. (The narrator, ‘Abdullah added, “I saw them all killed and thrown in the Badr well).

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 186 :
Narrated by ‘Aisha (radiallaahu `anhaa)
Once the Jews came to the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) and said, “Death be upon you.” So I cursed them. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “What is the matter?” I said, “Have you not heard what they said?” The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Have you not heard what I replied (to them)? (I said), (‘The same is upon you.’)”

I feel sorry for these people, they made the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) pray against themselves. Who do you think Allah will accept from? The Jews who cursed our Prophet, or His beloved Prophet himself who returned the favor?

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 187 :
Narrated by ‘Abdullah bin Abbas (radiallaahu `anhu)
Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) wrote a letter to Caesar saying, “If you reject Islam, you will be responsible for the sins of the peasants (i.e. your people).”

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 188 :
Narrated by Abu Huraira (radiallaahu `anhu)
Tufail bin ‘Amr Ad-Dausi and his companions came to the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) and said, “O Allah’s Apostle! The people of the tribe of Daus disobeyed and refused to follow you; so invoke Allah against them.” The people said, “The tribe of Daus is ruined.” The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “O Allah! Give guidance to the people of Daus, and let them embrace Islam.”

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 189 :
Narrated by Anas (radiallaahu `anhu)
When the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) intended to write a letter to the ruler of the Byzantines, he was told that those people did not read any letter unless it was stamped with a seal. So, the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) got a silver ring — as if I were just looking at its white glitter on his hand — and stamped on it the expression “Muhammad, Apostle of Allah”.

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 190 :
Narrated by ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbas (radiallaahu `anhu)
Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) sent his letter to Khusrau and ordered his messenger to hand it over to the Governor of Bahrain who was to hand it over to Khusrau. So, when Khusrau read the letter he tore it. Said bin Al-Musaiyab said, “The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) then invoked Allah to disperse them with full dispersion, (destroy them (i.e. Khusrau and his followers) severely)”.

You might have noticed in all these accounts that Prophet didn’t make dua against a person or people before giving them fair warnings and chances to turn to Allah. This is the Sunnah. We must not jump to cursing others and want bad things t happen to them just because they disobeyed or disrespected us once. Give people fair chances, wouldn’t you want to be given more and more chances by Allah?

Dua Before Eating (Hadith No. 2161)

Bismillah.

Volume 3, Book 44, Number 664:

Narrated Salama (radiallaahu `anhu):

Once the journey food diminished and the people were reduced to poverty. They went to the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) and asked his permission to slaughter their camels, and he agreed. ‘Umar (radiallaahu `anhu) met them and they told him about it, and he said, “How would you survive after slaughtering your camels?” Then he went to the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) and said, “O Allah’s Apostle! How would they survive after slaughtering their camels?” Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) ordered ‘Umar (radiallaahu `anhu), “Call upon the people to bring what has remained of their food.” A leather sheet was spread and al I the journey food was collected and heaped over it. Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) stood up and invoked Allah to bless it, and then directed all the people to come with their utensils, and they started taking from it till all of them got what was sufficient for them. Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) then said, “I testify that None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and I am His Apostle. “

Ask Allah to bless your food before eating it. Say Bismillah and pray for barakah, especially when it’s for a gathering. You’ll see that you won’t run out of it till everyone’s had their fill. Sunnah 101.

Fear the Oppressed [Du’aas Against Enemy Included] (Hadith No. 2125)

Bismillah.

Volume 3, Book 43, Number 628:
Narrated Ibn ‘Abbas (radiallaahu `anhu):
The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) sent Mu’adh to Yemen and said, “Be afraid, from the curse of the oppressed as there is no screen between his invocation and Allah.”

That simply means that if he asks Allah to destroy the oppressor in the worst way possible, Allah might be very quick to accept his dua. So be afraid!

“Oh Allah! We put You in front of them, and we seek refuge in You from their evils!”