People are made up of
basic "metals" or qualities.
The best of them in Jahiliyyah are the
best of them in Islam, according to a
hadith of the Prophet.
Here are two pictures
of a noble companion--one during his
life in Jahiliyyah and the other after
he became a Muslim .
In Jahiliyyah, this
Sahabi was known as Zayd al-Khayl. When
he became a Muslim, the Prophet renamed
him Zayd al-Khayr.
The tribe of Aamir
were afflicted one year by a severe
drought which destroyed crops and
vegetation and caused livestock to
perish. So bad was it that one man left
the tribe with his family and went to
Hira. There he left his family with the
words, "Wait for me here till I
return to you." He swore to himself
not to return to them until he earned
some money for them or died in the
process.
The man took some
provisions with him and walked all day
in search of something for his family.
At nightfall, he found himself in front
of a tent. Nearby a horse was tethered
and he said to himself:
"This is the
first booty." He went to the horse,
untied it and was about to mount it when
a voice called out to him:
"Leave it and
take your life as booty." He
hastily abandoned the horse.
For seven days he
walked until he reached a place where
there was a pasture for camels. Nearby
was an enormous tent with a leather
dome, signs of great riches and wealth.
The man said to
himself: "Doubtless this pasture
has camels and doubtless this tent has
occupants." The sun was about to
set. The man looked inside the tent and
saw a very old man in the center. He sat
down behind the old man without the
latter realizing his presence.
The sun soon set. A
horseman, imposing and well built,
approached. He rode his mount erect and
tall. Two male servants accompanied him,
one on his right and the other on his
left. With him were almost a hundred
she-camels and in front of them a huge
male camel. Clearly he was a well
endowed man. To one of the servants he
said, pointing to a fat camel:
"Milk this and
give the old man a drink." The
shaykh drank one or two mouthfuls from
the full vessel which was brought to him
and left it. The wanderer went up to it
stealthily and drank all the milk in it.
The servant returned, took the vessel
and said:
"Master, he has
drunk it all." The horseman was
happy and ordered another camel to be
milked. The old man drank only one
mouthful and the wanderer drank half of
what was left so as not to arouse the
suspicion of the horseman. The horseman
then ordered his second servant to kill
a sheep. Some of it was grilled and the
horseman fed the shaykh until he was
satisfied. He and the two servants then
ate. After this, they all slept soundly;
their snoring filled the tent.
The wanderer then went
to the he-camel, untied and mounted it.
He rode off and the she camels followed.
He rode throughout the night. At
daybreak he looked around in every
direction but did not see anyone
following him. He pushed on until the
sun was high in the sky. He looked
around and suddenly saw something like
an eagle or a big bird in the distance
coming towards him. It quickly gained on
him and soon he saw that it was the
horseman on his horse.
The wanderer
dismounted and tied the he-camel. He
took out an arrow and placed it in his
bow and stood in front of the other
camels. The horseman stopped at a
distance and shouted:
"Untie the
camel." The man refused saying how
he had left behind him a hungry family
in Hira and how he had sworn not to
return unless he had money or died in
the process
"You are dead if
you do not untie the camel," said
the horseman. The wanderer again refused
to do so. The horseman threatened him
once more and said:
"Hold out the
reins of the camel. There are three
knots in it. Tell me in which of them
you want me to place my arrow." The
man pointed to the middle knot and the
horseman lodged an arrow right in the
center as if he had neatly placed it
there with his hand. He did the same
with the second and third knots. At
that, the man quietly returned his own
arrow to his quiver and gave himself up.
The horseman took away his sword and his
bow and said to him:
"Ride behind
me." The man expected the worst
fate to befall him now. He was at the
complete mercy of the horseman who said:
"Do you think I
will cause you harm when you have shared
with Muhalhil (the old man, his father)
his drink and his food last night?"
When the man heard the
name Muhalhil, he was astonished and
asked: "Are you Zayd al-Khayl?"
"Yes," said
the horseman.
"Be the best
captor," pleaded the man.
"Don't
worry," replied Zayd al-Khayl
calmly. "If these camels were mine,
I would give them to you. But they
belong to one of my sisters. But stay
some days with me. I am about to make a
raid."
Three days later he
raided the Banu Numayr and captured
about a hundred camels, as booty. He
gave them all to the man and sent some
men with him as guards until he reached
his family in Hira.
The above is a story
of Zayd al-Khayl as he was in Jahiliyyah
recounted by the historian ash-Shaybani.
The books of Siyar give another picture
of Zayd al-Khayl as he was in Islam . .
.
When Zayd al-Khayr
heard the news of the Prophet, peace be
upon him, he made some of his own
enquiries and then decided to go to
Madinah to meet the Prophet. With him
was a big delegation of his people among
whom were Zurr ibn Sudoos, Malik ibn
Jubayr, Aamir ibn Duwayn and others.
When they reached
Madinah, they went straight to the
Prophet's Mosque and tethered their
mounts at its door. It happened that as
they entered, the Prophet was on the
mimbar addressing the Muslims. His
speech aroused Zayd and his delegation
and they were also astonished by the
rapt attention of the Muslims and the
effect of the Prophet's words on them.
The Prophet was saying:
"I am better for
you than al-Uzza (one of the main idols
of the Arabs in Jahiliyyah) and
everything else that you worship. I am
better for you than the black camel
which you worship besides God."
The Prophet's words
had two different effects on Zayd al-Khayl
and those with him. Some of them
responded positively to the Truth and
accepted it. Some turned away and
rejected it. One of the latter was Zurr
ibn Sudoos. When he saw the devotion of
the believers to Muhammad, both envy and
fear filled his heart and he said to
those with him:
"I see a man who
shall certainly captivate all Arabs and
bring them under his sway. I shall not
let him control me ever." He then
headed towards Syria where it is said he
shaved his head (as was the practice of
some monks) and became a Christian.
The reaction of Zayd
and others was different. When the
Prophet had finished speaking, Zayd
stood up, tall and impressive-looking in
the midst of the Muslims and said in a
loud and clear voice:
"O Muhammad, I
testify that there is no god but Allah
and that you are the messenger of
Allah."
The Prophet came up to
him and asked, "Who are you"
"I am Zayd al-Khayl
the son of Muhalhil."
"From now on you
are Zayd al-Khayr instead, not Zayd al-Khayl,"
said the Prophet. "Praise be to God
Who has brought you from the hills and
dales of your native land and softened
your heart towards Islam."
Thereafter he was known as Zayd al-Khayr
(Zayd the Good).
The Prophet then took
him to his house. With them were Umar
ibn al-Khattab and some other
Companions. The Prophet gave him a
cushion to sit on but he felt very
uncomfortable to recline thus in the
presence of the Prophet and he returned
the cushion. The Prophet handed it back
to him and he returned it to him. This
happened three times. Eventually, when
they were all seated, the Prophet said
to Zayd al-Khayr:
"O Zayd, no man
has ever been described to me and when I
see him he does not fit the description
at all except you. You have two
characteristics which are pleasing to
God and His Prophet."
"What are
they?" asked Zayd.
"Perseverance and
sagacity," replied the Prophet.
"Praise be to
God," said Zayd, "Who has
given me what He and His Prophet
like." He then turned directly to
the Prophet and said: "Give me, O
messenger of God, three hundred horsemen
and I promise you that I will secure
Byzantine territory with them." The
Prophet praised his fervor and said,
"What manner of man are you!"
During this visit, all
those who stayed with Zayd became
Muslims. They then desired to return to
their homes in Najd and the Prophet bade
them farewell. The great desire of Zayd
al-Khayr to work and fight for the cause
of Islam, however was not to be
realized.
In Madinah al-Munawwarah
at that time there was an epidemic of
fever and Zayd al-Khayr succumbed to it
and said to those with him: "Take
me away from the land of Qays. I have
the fever of small pox. By God, I shall
not fight as a Muslim before I meet
Allah, the Mighty the Great."
Zayd took the road to
his people in Najd in spite of the fact
that the fever became more and more
intense and slowed him down. He hoped at
least to get back to his people and that
they would become Muslims, through God's
grace, at his hands. He struggled to
overcome the fever but it got the better
of him and he breathed his last on the
way before reaching Najd. Between his
acceptance of Islam and his death,
however, there was no time for him to
have fallen into sin.
Sheikh Abdulfattah Abu-Abdullah Adelabu (Ph. D. Damas),
a West African Islamic Academic founded AWQAF Africa, of
which he's the first al Amir (i.e. President).
Sheikh Dr. Adelabu was studying Postgraduate Degrees in
Damascus early 1990's during when Syria reviewed its
national security after an �Oslo Accord'...
Syria like many other countries around the world
witnessed, during this period, the flood of refugees
from war troubled nations like Somalia, arrival of
people from Algeria during the brutal struggling between
the Mujahidun and the government, resettlement of the
Palestinians fleeing from sophisticated guns of the
Israelis as well as adventure of African migrants for
reasons uncountable�
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