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A
Legend of Sacrifice and Love
In the Second Pledge of a 'Aqabah which
has been mentioned many times, 70 men
and two women of Al-Madiinah gave their
allegiance to the Prophet (PBUH). Among
those blessed men and women were Habib
Ibn Zaid and his father Zaid (May Allah
be pleased with both of them). His
mother was Nusaibah bint Ka'b, one of
the two women who were the first to give
allegiance to the Prophet (PBUH). The
second woman was his maternal aunt.
Thus, he was a veteran believer in whose
backbone and ribs faith ran rather than
blood. He lived near the Prophet (PBUH)
after he emigrated to Al-Madiinah.
There, he never missed an expedition in
the cause of Allah or lagged behind.
One
day the south of the Arab Peninsula
witnessed the emergence of two
presumptuous and arrogant liars who
claimed prophethood and tried to drag
people into the swamp of sin and
disbelief. One of these impostors was
called Al-Aswad Ibn Ka'b Al ‘Aansiy,
from San'aa'. The other was Musailamah
the Liar from Al-Yamaamah. Both
impostors incited people against the
believers in their tribes who responded
to what Allah ordained and who believed
in His Prophet. They also goaded them
against the Prophet's messengers whom he
sent to their lands. Moreover, they even
went so far as to ignite suspicion
against prophethood itself and committed
hideous mischief in the land, causing
corruption and disbelief.
One
day, the Prophet (PBUH) was surprised
when a messenger arrived with a message
from Musailamah in which he said,
"From Musailamah Allah's Prophet to
Muhammad Allah's Prophet. Peace be upon
you. We are your partner in prophethood;
consequently, we have half of the earth
and the Quraish has the other half , but
the Quraish want unjustly to have it
all!"
The
Prophet (PBUH) summoned one of his
scribes and dictated this answer to
Musailamah: "In the name of Allah,
the Most Beneficient, the Most Merciful.
From Muhammad the Prophet of Allah to
Musailamah the Liar. Peace be upon those
who followed the right path. Verily, the
earth is Allah's. He gives it as a
heritage to whom He will of His slaves
and the blessed end is for the pious and
righteous persons who fear Allah."
The
Prophet's words were direct and crytal
clear. They exposed the liar of the Bani
Haniifah who thought that prophethood
was a kingdom, so he demanded his piece
of the cake, namely, half the earth and
its people. The messenger carried the
Prophet's answer to Musailamah, yet it
only made him more mischievous and
corrupt.
He
went on spreading his falsehood and
slander and went on abusing the
believers and instigating people against
them. The Prophet (PBUH) thought it best
to give him one last chance, so he sent
a message to convince him not to commit
any more of his folly. He picked Habiib
Ibn Zaid as his messenger. Habiib
hastened enthusiasticly with the
glorious mission the Prophet (PBUH) had
entrusted him with. He hoped that
Musailamah's heart would be guided to
the right path and that he would
rewarded endlessly in the Hereafter.
The
traveler reached his destination.
Musailamah the Liar read the Prophet's
message, but he was blinded by its
light, which only made him more aberrant
and arrogant.
Musailamah
was really no more than a flagrant liar.
He indeed behaved accordingly. He lacked
the least manliness, sense of honor or
decency of the Arabs which might have
prevented him from shedding the blood of
a messenger, which was highly respected
and even held sacred by all Arabs.
It was
as though this noble religion Islam
wanted to give humanity a new lesson of
greatness and herosim. Only this time,
both its subject matter and its tutor
were one and the same person, Habiib Ibn
Zaid.
Musailamah
the Liar called upon people to witness
one of his so-called memorable days. The
messenger of the Prophet, Habiib Ibn
Zaid, was brought in. It was clear from
his wounds and bruises that he had been
abused and tortured severely by those
criminals. They thought that they could
strip him of his valor so that he might
appear in a state of complete
humiliation and defeat before the crowd.
They hoped that he would then give
Musailamah the credibility he craved
when he called upon him to witness to
his fake prophethood before the crowd.
Thus, the notorious liar would be able
to make a fake miracle that would cement
his prestige among those whom he
deluded.
Therefore,
Musailamah asked Habiib, "Do you
bear witness that Muhammad is, indeed,
the Messenger of Allah?" Habiib
anwered boldly, "Yes, I do bear
witness that Muhammad is, indeed, the
Messenger of Allah." Musailamah's
face went white with humiliation and
embarrassment yet he asked, "Do you
bear witness that I am the Messenger of
Allah?" Hahiib scornfully replied,
"Nonsense!"
The
impostor Musailamah's humiliated face
darkened with spiteful madness. His
scheme had failed. His torture of Habiib
had been futile. He was slapped so
fiercely before the crowd which he
himself had gathered to witness his
so-called miracle. This slap was so
strong that it shattered his assumed
dignity once and for all. He became as
violent as a wounded bull as he summoned
his executioner, who rushed and stabbed
Habiib's body with his sword. He slew
him, cutting his body into small pieces,
one by one Habiib made no sound beside
chanting stoically, "There is no
god but Allah and Muhammad is His
Messenger."
It was
as though he wanted to celebrate his
Islam until the very last moment of his
life. Now, if Habiib, on that day, had
tried to escape this horrible death by a
pretense of his faith in Musailamah's
prophethood, his faith would not have
been questioned, doubted or blemished in
any way. But he was a man who had
witnessed the Second Pledge of Al-'Aqabah
along with his father, mother, brother,
and aunt, and ever since those decisive
blessed moments he had carried upon his
shoulders the responsibility that ensued
his oath and faith to the fullest. He
could not for a moment hold his life and
principles as separable. Therefore, he
found a rare opportunity to win his life
once and for all. His life was an
embodiment of his faith. It embodied his
stead-fastness, greatness, heroism,
sacrifice, and martyrdom for the sake of
Right and Truth, the splenor of which
surpassed all victories.
The
Prophet received the sad news of
Habiib's marytrdom with patience, for
Allah's inspiration made him see the
future fate of Musailamah. He could
almost see his death with his own eyes.
As for Nusaibah bint Ka'b, Habiib's
mother, she gnashed her teeth for a long
while on hearing the terrible deed, then
she swore a solemn oath to avenge her
son's death upon Musailamah and to thrut
her sword and spear right into his
wicked body.
It
seemed that fate watched her anguish,
patience, and courage on receiving this
news and showed great admiration and
sympathy for her calamity and decided
all at once to stand by her until she
fulfilled her oath.
After
a short while, the Battle of Al-Yamaamah
took place. Abu Bakr As-Siddiiq, the
Prophet's caliph, organized an army to
march to Al Yamama where Musailamah had
already organized a huge army.
Nusaibah
marched along with the Muslim army and
threw herself into the battlefield armed
with a sword in her right hand and a
spear in her left one. She kept on
shouting, "Where are you Musailamah,
you enemy of Allah?"
When
Musailamah was killed and his followers
were like carded wool, the standards of
Islam fluttered victoriously and
proudly. Nusaibah's strong and brave
body was strained with spear wounds .
She stood there recalling the amiable
face of her beloved son that seemed to
linger about the place. Wherever she
looked, she saw the face of her son
Habiib. It was somewhere out there
smiling contentedly on every victorious
fluttering flag.
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