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A woman named Umm Anmaar
who belonged to the Khuza-a tribe in
Makkah went to the slave market in the
city. She wanted to buy herself a youth
for her domestic chores and to exploit
his labor for economic gains. As she
scrutinized the faces of those who were
displayed for sale, her eyes fell ON a
boy who was obviously not yet in his
teens. She saw that he was strong and
healthy and that there were clear signs
of intelligence on his face. She needed
no further incentive to purchase him.
She paid and walked away with her new
acquisition.
On the way home, Umm
Anmaar turned to the boy and said:
"What's your
name, boy?''
"Khabbah."
"And what's your
father's name'?''
"Al-Aratt. "
"Where do you
come from?"
"From Najd."
"Then you are an
Arab!"
"Yes, from the
Banu Tamim."
"How then did you
come into the hands of the slave dealers
in Makkah?"
"One of the Arab
tribes raided our territory. They took
our cattle and captured women and
children. I was among the youths
captured. I passed from one hand to
another until I ended up in Makkah . .
."
Umm Anmaar placed the
youth as an apprentice to one of the
blacksmiths in Makkah to learn the art
of making swords. The youth learnt
quickly and was soon an expert at the
profession. When he was strong enough,
Umm Anmaar set up a workshop for him
with all the necessary tools and
equipment from making swords. Before
long he was quite famous in Makkah for
his excellent craftsmanship. People also
liked dealing with him because of his
honesty and integrity. Umm Anmaar gained
much profit through him and exploited
his talents to the full.
In spite of his
youthfulness, Khabbab displayed unique
intelligence and wisdom. Often, when he
had finished work and was left to
himself, he would reflect deeply on the
state of Arabian society which was so
steeped in corruption. He was appalled
at the aimless wandering, the ignorance
and the tyranny which he saw. He was one
of the victims of this tyranny and he
would say to himself:
"After this night
of darkness, there must be a dawn."
And he hoped that he would live long
enough to see the darkness dissipate
with the steady glow and brightness of
new light.
Khabbab did not have
to wait long. He was privileged to be in
Makkah when the first rays of the light
of Islam penetrated the city. It
emanated from the lips of Muhammad ibn
Abdullah as he announced that none
deserves to be worshipped or adored
except the Creator and Sustainer of the
universe. He called for an end to
injustice and oppression and sharply
criticized the practices of the rich in
accumulating wealth at the expense of
the poor and the outcast. He denounced
aristocratic privileges and attitudes
and called for a new order based on
respect for human dignity and compassion
for the underprivileged including
orphans, wayfarers and the needy.
To Khabbab, the
teachings of Muhammad were like a
powerful light dispelling the darkness
of ignorance. He went and listened to
these teachings directly from him.
Without any hesitation he stretched out
his hand to the Prophet in allegiance
and testified that "There is no god
but Allah and Muhammad is His servant
and His messenger." He was among
the first ten persons to accept Islam .
Khabbab did not hide
his acceptance of Islam from anyone.
When the news of his becoming a Muslim
reached Umm Anmaar, she became incensed
with anger. She went to her brother
Sibaa ibn Abd al-Uzza who gathered a
gang of youths from the Khuzaa tribe and
together they made their way to Khabbab.
They found him completely engrossed in
his work. Sibaa went up to him and said:
"We have heard
some news from you which we don't
believe."
"What is
it?" asked Khabbab.
"We have been
told that you have given up your
religion and that you now follow that
man from the Banu Ha shim ."
"I have not given
up my religion" replied Khabbab
calmly. "I only believe in One God
Who has no partner. I reject your idols
and I believe that Muhammad is the
servant of God and His messenger."
No sooner had Khabbab
spoken these words than Sibaa and his
gang set upon him. They beat him with
their fists and with iron bars and they
kicked him until he fell unconscious to
the ground, with blood streaming from
the wounds he received.
The news of what
happened between Khabbab and his slave
mistress spread throughout Makkah like
wild-fire. People were astonished at
Khabbab's daring. They had not yet heard
of anyone who followed Muhammad and who
had the audacity to announce the fact
with such frankness and deviant
confidence.
The Khabbab affair
shook the leaders of the Quraysh. They
did not expect that a blacksmith, such
as belonged to Umm Anmaar and who had no
clan in Makkah to protect him and no
asabiyyah to prevent him from injury,
would be bold enough to go outside her
authority, denounce her gods and reject
the religion of her forefathers. They
realized that this was only the
beginning . . .
The Quraysh were not
wrong in their expectations. Khabbab's
courage impressed many of his friends
and encouraged them to announce their
acceptance of Islam. One after another,
they began to proclaim publicly the
message of truth.
In the precincts of
the Haram, near the Kabah, the Quraysh
leaders gathered to discuss the problem
of Muhammad. Among them were Abu Sufyan
ibn Harb, al Walid ibn al-Mughira and
Abu Jahl ibn Hisham. They noted that
Muhammad was getting stronger and that
his following was increasing day by day,
indeed hour by hour. To them this was
like a terrible disease and they made up
their minds to stop it before it got out
of control. They decided that each tribe
should get hold of any follower of
Muhammad among them and punish him until
he either recants his faith or dies.
On Sibaa ibn Abd al-Uzza
and his people fell the task of
punishing Khabbab even further.
Regularly they began taking him to all
open area in the city when the sun was
at its zenith and the ground was
scorching hot. They would take off his
clothes and dress him in iron armor and
lay him on the ground. In the intense
heat his skin would be seared and hit
body would become inert. When it
appeared that all strength had let him,
they would come up and challenge him:
"What do you say
about Muhammad'?"
"He is the
servant of God and His messenger. He has
come with the religion of guidance and
truth, to lead us from darkness into
light."
They would become more
furious and intensify their beating.
They would ask about al-Laat and al-Uzza
and he would reply firmly:
"Two idols, deaf
and dumb, that cannot cause harm or
bring any benefit..."
This enraged them even
more and they would take a big hot stone
and place it on his back. Khabbab's pain
and anguish would be excruciating but he
did not recant.
The inhumanity of Umm
Anmaar towards Khabbab was not less than
that of her brother. Once she saw the
Prophet speaking to Khabbab at his
workshop and she flew into a blind rage.
Every day after that, for several days,
she went to Khabbab's workshop and
punished him by placing a red hot iron
from the furnace on his head. The agony
was unbearable and he often fainted.
Khabbab suffered long
and his only recourse was to prayer. He
prayed for the punishment of Umm Anmaar
and her brother. His release from pain
and suffering only came when the
Prophet, peace be upon him, gave
permission to his companions to emigrate
to Madinah. Umm Anmaar by then could not
prevent him from going. She herself
became afflicted with a terrible illness
which no one had heard of before. She
behaved as if she had suffered a rabid
attack. The headaches she had were
especially nerve-racking. Her children
sought everywhere for medical help until
finally they were told that the only
cure was to cauterize her head. This was
done. The treatment, with a ret hot
iron, was more terrible than all the
headaches she suffered.
At Madinah, among the
generous and hospitable Ansar, Khabbab
experienced a state of ease and
restfulness which he had not known for a
long time. He was delighted to be near
the Prophet, peace be upon him, with no
one to molest him or disturb his
happiness.
He fought alongside
the noble Prophet at the battle of Badr.
He participated in the battle of Uhud
where he had the satisfaction of seeing
Sibaa ibn Abd al-Uzza meet his end at
the hands of Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib,
the uncle of the Prophet.
Khabbab lived long
enough to witness the great expansion of
Islam under the four Khulafaa arRashidun--Abu
Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali. He once
visited Umar during his caliphate. Umar
stood up--he was in a meeting--and
greeted Khabbab with the words:
"No one is more
deserving than you to be in this
assembly other than Bilal." He
asked Khabbab about the torture and the
persecution he had received at the hands
of the mushrikeen. Khabbab described
this in some detail since it was still
very vivid in his mind. He then exposed
his back and even Umar was aghast at
what he saw.
In the last phase of
his life, Khabbab was blessed with
wealth such as he had never before
dreamed of. He was, however, well-known
for his generosity. It is even said that
he placed his dirhams and his diners in
a part of his house that was known to
the poor and the needy. He did not
secure this money in any way and those
in need would come and take what they
needed without seeking any permission or
asking any questions.
In spite of this, he
was always afraid of his accountability
to God for the way he disposed of this
wealth. A group of companions related
that they visited Khabbab when he was
sick and he said:
"In this place
there are eighty thousand dirhams. By
God, I have never secured it any way and
I have not barred anyone in need from
it."
He wept and they asked
why he was weeping.
"I weep," he
said, "because my companions have
passed away and they did not obtain any
such reward in this world. I have lived
on and have acquired this wealth and I
fear that this will be the only reward
for my deeds."
Soon after he passed
away. The Khalifah Ali ibn Abu Talib,
may God be pleased with him, stood at
his grave and said:
"May God have
mercy on Khabbab. He accepted Islam
wholeheartedly. He performed hijrah
willingly. He lived as a mujahid and God
shall not withhold the reward of one who
has done good."
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