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The
Falcon on the Day of Uhud !
<
Of the believers are men who have been
true to their pledge to GOD, from them
some have fulfilled their pledges, and
some are still in hope of doing so, and
they never change at heart > (33 :
23).
The Prophet (PBUH) recited this glorious
verse and then turned to his Companions,
pointed to Talhah and said, "Anyone
who wants to please himself by looking
at a man walking on the earth who has
fulfilled his pledge of martyrdom should
look at Talhah."
The Prophet's Companions never wished
nor did their hearts ever aspire and
long for a better announcement than the
one the Prophet (PBUH) directed to
Talhah Ibn 'Ubaid Allah. By such words
he could feel secure towards his destiny
and fate. He was going to live and die
as one of those who have been true to
their pledge so that neither civil
strife could affect him, nor any kind of
lassitude influence him.'
The Prophet (PBUH) announced Paradise to
him. How then was the life of such a one
who deserved this fine announcement?
He was trading in the land of Basraa,
when he met one of the most virtuous
monks there. He told him that a Prophet
who was going to appear in the Sacred
Land and whose appearance was prophesied
by all virtuous prophets had risen and
his era had already begun. Talhah was
very much afraid to miss the procession
of guidance, mercy, and salvation.
When Talhah returned to his homeland
Makkah after having spent months in
Basraa and traveling around, he found a
lot of talk taking place here and there.
Whenever he met someone or a group of
Makkah inhabitants they would talk to
him about Muhammad the Trustworthy,
about the angel sent down to him, about
the mission he was carrying to the Arabs
in particular and all people in general.
The first thing he asked about was Abu
Bakr. He learned that Abu Bakr had
returned with a caravan and trade not
long ago and that he was standing at the
side of Muhammad, believing in and
defending him.
Talhah said to himself, "Muhammad
and Abu Bakr? By Allah, both of them
would never join each other and agree
upon falsehood.* Muhammad has already
reached the age of 40. In all these
years we've never heard him speak one
single lie. Is it possible that he would
now lie about Allah and say, 'He sent me
as a prophet and He sent me an angel'?
It's something hard to believe."
He quickened his steps, directing them
towards Abu Bakr's house. They did not
talk for long because his long
aspiration to meet the Messenger of
Allah (PBUH) and to swear to him the
oath of allegiance was much faster than
his heartbeats.
Abu Bakr accompanied him to the Prophet
(PBUH) and he soon embraced Islam,
joining there and then the blessed
ranks!
That is how Talhah became one of the
very early converts.
Despite his honorable rank among his
clan, his vast wealth, and his
successful trade, he had to taste his
own portion of the Quraish's
persecution. The task of torturing him
and Abu Bakr was given to Nawfal Ibn
Khuwailid, who was called The Lion of
the Quraish. However, their persecution
did not last long, as the Quraish soon
felt ashamed and began to think about
the consequences of their deeds.
Talhah
emigrated to Al-Madiinah when the
Prophet (PBUH) ordered the Muslims to
emigrate. After that he experienced all
the battles together with the Prophet (PBUH)
except the Battle of Badr because the
Prophet (PBUH) had sent him and Sa'iid
Ibn Zaid on an assignment outside Al-Madiinah.
When they had fulfilled their task and
were on their way back to Al Madiinah,
the Prophet (PBUH) and his Companions
were returning home after the battle.
Talhah and his companion felt so sad and
tormented for having missed the reward
of joining the Prophet (PBUH) in his
first jihaad battle.
However, the Prophet (PBUH) accorded
them peace of mind when he informed them
that their reward was exactly like the
warrior's reward; moreover, he gave them
a share of the booty exactly like the
share he gave to each one who had fought
the battle.
Then came the Battle of Uhud, when the
Quraish, with all their might and
tyranny, came to take blood revenge for
the Day of Badr and to restore their
dignity by defeating the Muslims once
and for all, a defeat which was thought
by the Quraish to be a simple matter and
a predetermined fate. The fierce battle
took place, and soon the battlefield was
filled with its awful harvest: calamity
overtook the polytheists.
Then when the Muslims saw them
retreating, they laid down their weapons
and the archers descended from their
posts and began to collect their share
of booty. Immediately and suddenly the
Quraish army turned back to hold the
field and tip the balance of the battle
in their favor.
The fighting's ferocity, cruelty, and
crushing resumed. The surprise attack
had the effect of scattering the army.
Talhah saw that the side of the
battlefield where the Prophet (PBUH) was
standing had become the target of the
polytheists' concentration. He
immediately hurried towards the Prophet
(PBUH).
He (May Allah be pleased with him)
traversed a path, a long one, although
it was in fact a short distance.
It was a path in which a single inch
could not be traversed except by
confronting tens of ferocious swords and
tens of mad lances.
He could see from a far distance how the
Prophet's (PBUH) cheek was bleeding and
how he was silently suffering. It was
then that lalhah got mad, leaped once or
twice over the path of horror to reach
the Prophet (PBUH), in front of whom he
had to experience what he was afraid of:
the swords of the polytheists drawn
towards the Prophet (PBUH), surrounding
him, wanting to get at him.
lalhah stood there like a raging army,
striking with his sword to the left and
right. He could see the Prophet (PBUH)
bleeding and his pains becoming more and
more unbearable. He helped him and
carried him away from the hole where his
foot had gotten stuck.
o He supported the Prophet (PBUH) with
his left hand and chest, backing up to a
safe, secure place, while his right hand
(May Allah bless his right hand) fought
the swords of the polytheists who
surrounded the Prophet and who swarmed
the battlefield like locusts.
Let Abu Bakr As-Siddiiq describe for us
the whole scene of battle. 'Aa'ishah
once said: Whenever Abu Bakr recalled
the Day of Uhud he used to say, It was
the lalhah's day. I was the first who
approached the Prophet (PBUH). He said
to me and to Abu 'Ubaidah Ibn Al-Jarraah,
"Watch out, for your brother."
We looked at him, and we could see more
than 70 stabs. His finger was cut off.
We tried to remedy his condition.
In all the different events and battles,
lalhah was always to be found in the
forefront fighting in the cause of
Allah, redeeming the Prophet's standard.
Talhah lived among the Muslim community,
worshipping Allah with the worshipers,
fighting in the cause of Allah with
those who fought for truth, following
the basic principles of the new religion
which was revealed in order to bring
people - all people - out of darkness
into light.
After he fulfilled his duties towards
Allah, he went on seeking the bounty of
Allah, expanding and promoting his
successful trade and business.
Talhah was one of the wealthiest
Muslims. His whole fortune was put in
the service of his religion, the
standard of which he carried with the
Prophet (PBUH). He spent it without
measure, and so Allah increased it for
him without measure.
The Prophet (PBUH) called him "Talhah
the Excellent", "Talhah the
Splendid and "Talhah the
Generous" to demonstrate his
bountiful generosity.
How often did he give his whole fortune
away. Then Allah the Ever-Generous
returned it to him manifold! His wife
Su'adaa Bint "Awf reported: Once I
approached Talhah. I saw him worried and
asked him, "What's the
matter?" He said, "The money
which I possess is now so abundant that
it worries me and makes me feel
distressed." I told him,
"Never mind, I'll distribute
it." He set out to call people and
to divide it among them till there
wasn't a single dirham left.
On another occasion, he sold his land
for a very high price, and when he
looked at the pile of money, his tears
rolled down and he said, " A man in
whose house all that money is to remain
for a night and he doesn't know for sure
what will happen to him is certainly
deceived by Allah."
Then he called some of his companions to
carry his money with them and walk
through the streets of Al-Madiinah
distributing it until in the last part
of the night he was without a single
dirham of that money.
Jaabir Ibn 'Abd Allah described his
wealth saying, "I never saw anybody
giving out so much money without being
asked as did Talhah Ibn 'Ubaid
Allah."
He was one of the kindest toward his
relatives and kin. He supported them
all, though they were numerous. It was
once said about him, "He never left
an orphan without supporting him and his
dependents. He provided for the marriage
of the unmarried ones, he provided
service for the disabled ones, and paid
the debts of the indebted ones."
As-Saa'i'b Ibn Zaid once said, " I
accompanied Talhah during travels and
during times of settlement. I never saw
anybody more generous in terms of money,
clothes, and food than Talhah."
The well known civil strife broke out
during the caliphate of 'Uthmaan. Talhah
supported the argument of 'Uthmaan's
opponents, standing on their side in
most of their quests to witness change
and reformation.
Did he therefore, in such a position,
call for 'Uthmaan's murder, or even feel
pleased by it? Never! If he had known
that the civil strife would develop in
such a way, bursting into mad spite,
expressing itself in such cruel crime,
the victim of which was "The Man of
Two Lights" 'Uthmaan (May Allah be
pleased with him)... We say, if he had
known that the civil strife would in the
long run lead to such an end and such a
conflict, he would have resisted it, and
it would have been resisted by the rest
of the Companions who supported him at
the beginning, recognizing it as a
movement of opposition and warning, and
no more.
However, Talhah's stance turned out to
be his "life conflict" after
the brutal way in which 'Uthmaan was
surrounded and killed. Imam 'Ali (radhi
Allahu 'anhu) had hardly accepted the
oath of allegience from lalhah and
Az-Zubair at Al-Madiinah, when they both
asked permission to go to Makkah for 'Umrah.
From Makkah they both turned to Al-Basrah,
where a great multitude was gathering to
avenge 'Ufhmaan's death.
At last it was the Battle of Al-Jamal,
where those calling for revenge met with
the party supporting ''Ali (radhi Allahu
'anhu).
Whenever ''Ali (radhi Allahu 'anhu)
thought about this difficult situation
which Islam and Muslims were confronting
in this horrible dispute, he burst into
sorrowful tears and his laments grew
louder and louder. He was forced into
this difficult situation.
Being the Caliph of the Muslims, he
could not and it was not his right to be
tolerant towards any revolt against the
state or any armed opposition to the
established authority. To crush a
rebellion of that sort, then, he had to
face his brethren, his companions,
friends and the followers of his Prophet
and his religion, those with whom he had
so often encountered and combated the
polytheist armies and with whom he had
so often joined under the standard of
monotheism in battles that refined their
Islamic behavior and melted away all
weakness and disgrace, thereby turning
them into brethren - and indeed brethren
- supporting each other.
What a conflicting situation! What a
difficult harsh test! In order to find a
way out of such a conflict and to save
the blood of the Muslims, Imam 'Ali (radhi
Allahu 'anhu) did his utmost.
Nonetheless, the factors opposing Islam
- and they were many -which had met
their defeat at the hands of the Muslim
state in the days of its great leader 'Umar,
had kindled the civil uprising and
continued to stoke it and follow its
events and magnitude.
He cried a lot and wept abundantly when
he saw The Mother of the Faithful 'Aa'ishah
on her camel howdah at the head of the
army which rose to fight him. When he
saw Talhah and Az-Zubair, the disciples
of the Prophet (PBUH), he called to them
to come out to meet him, so they did.
They approached him till their horses
touched each other. He said to Talhah,
"0 Talhah! Did you come with the
wife of the Messenger of Allah to use
her in your fight while hiding your wife
at home?" Then he said to Az-Zubair,
"0 Zubair! I ask you by Allah. Do
you remember the day when the Prophet (PBUH)
passed you when we were in such-
and-such a place, then he said to you,
'0 Zubair! Do you love ''Ali (radhi
Allahu 'anhu)?' You replied, 'Why
shouldn't I love my nephew and cousin
and the follower of my religion?' He
said to you, "0 Zubair! By Allah,
you will fight him, being unjust to
him.'"
" 'Az-Zubair (May Allah be pleased
with him) said, "Yes, now I
remember, I had forgotten that. By
Allah, I won't fight you."
Az-Zubair and Talhah abstained from
taking part in this civil war. They
abstained as soon as things were
clarified. When they saw 'Ammaar Ibn
Yaasir fighting on 'Ali (radhi Allahu 'anhu)'s
side, they remembered the Prophet's
prophecy to 'Ammaar: "You
will be killed by the unjust
party." If "Ammaar
were killed in that war in which Talhah
was taking part, then Talhah was unjust.
Talhah and Az-Zubair retreated from the
whole fight and had to pay for that
retreat with their lives. But they met
Allah pleased and delighted with what
they had been endowed by Allah: insight
and guidance.
As for Az-Zubair, a man named 'Amr Ibn
Jarmuuz followed him and killed him
while he was praying.
As for Talhah he was pierced with a
lance by Marwaan Ibn Al-Hakim, which
killed him on the spot.
The murder of "Uthmaan represented
in Talhah's conscience his "life
conflict", as previously mentioned.
Despite the fact that, he did not take
part in the murder nor agree to it, he
had just supported the opposition
against him ('Ali) at a time when it was
not obvious that it would intensify and
develop into a more serious conflict
until it turned into a dreadful crime.
When he took his place on the day of
Al-Jamal amidst the army fighting
against the Ibn Abi Taalib which sought
to take revenge for 'Uthmaan's murder,
he wished that his position would be an
atonement making him feel at ease
towards the pressure of his conscience.
Before the start of the battle he was
supplicating with a voice choked with
tears saying, "O my Lord, accept me
this day in favor of 'Uthmaan until You
are pleased."
When they met ''Ali (radhi Allahu 'anhu)
face to face, he and Az-Zubair both said
they felt illuminated by 'Ali (radhi
Allahu 'anhu)'s words and thereby saw it
to be right to leave the battlefield.
However, martyrdom had been reserved for
them. Indeed, martyrdom was his fate,
and he was to meet it and it was to meet
him, wherever he was.
Did not the Prophet (PBUH) once say
about him, "He's one of those who
passed away. Whoever wants to please
himself by seeing a martyr walking on
the earth, go let him look at
Talhah." Thereby did the martyr
meet his inevitable fate, and the Battle
of Al-Jamal was over. The Mother of the
Believers realized that she had made a
hasty decision; therefore she left
Al-Basrah for the Sacred House and then
Al-Madiinah, keeping aloof from the
fighting and dispute. Imam Ali (radhi
Allahu 'anhu) provided her with all
means of comfort and respect.
When 'Ali (radhi Allahu 'anhu) inspected
all the martyrs of the battle, he set
out to pray the funeral prayer upon
them, those who fought on his side as
well as those who fought against him.
When he finished burying lalhah and
Az-Zubair, he stood saluting them for
the last time. He finished his words
saying, "I wish to be with lalhah
and Az-Zubair and "Uthmaan among
those whom Allah described thus: <We
removed from their hearts any malice
therein, as brothers they shall rest
upon couches facing each other
>" (15: 47).
Then he gazed at their grave with kind,
gentle, pure, and sad eyes saying,
"I've heard with my two ears the
Prophet (PBUH) saying, Talhah and
Az-Zubair are my neighbors in
Paradise.'"
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