CHAPTER 6: THE STORY OF ‘AMR IBN MURRAH AL-JUHANI
THE STORY OF ‘AMR IBN MURRAH AL-JUHANI
At-Tabarani narrated on the authority of ‘Amr Ibn Murrah Al-Juhani (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “I set out to perform Hajj with a group of my people during the Jahiliyyah and I saw in a dream while I was in Makkah a brilliant light emanating from the Ka‘bah and reaching to Mount Yathrib and Ash‘ar Juhainah; and I heard a voice coming from the light and it was saying, ‘Islam has appeared, the idols have been broken and the ties of kinship have been joined.’ I awoke from the dream in a state of fear and I said to my people, ‘By Allah, something is happening to this tribe from Quraish, ‘ and I informed them of what I had seen. Then, when we returned to our land, news came to me that a man called Ahmad had been sent and so I went to him and informed him of what I had seen and he said, ‘O, ‘Amr Ibn Murrah! I am the Prophet who has been sent to all of the slaves, to call them to Islam and to order them to cease bloodshed, maintain the ties of kinship, worship Allah, reject idols, perform Hajj to the House (of Allah) and to fast the month of Ramadan from among the twelve months. If anyone accepts all this, he will attain Paradise, but if anyone rejects it, he will be recompensed with the Fire. So believe, O, ‘Amr, and Allah will protect you from the ‘Awfulness of the Hellfire.’ I said, ‘I bear witness that none is worthy of worship except Allah, and that you are the Messenger of Allah. I believe in what you have brought pertaining to what is lawful and what is unlawful, even though many people may reject it.’ Then I recited to him some poetic verses which I had composed when I heard of him. We had an idol and my father had been its custodian and so I had stood before it and broken it, then I went to the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and recited to him,
I bear witness that Allah is true and that,
I am the first to abandon the stone idols,
And I rolled up my izar to migrate to you,
Traversing the desert, after crossing the flatlands,
To accompany the best of mankind in soul and lineage,
A Messenger to the kings of mankind, above the stars.
The Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘Welcome to you, O, ‘Amr Ibn Murrah.’ I said, ‘O, Messenger of Allah! Send me to my people; haply, Allah may bless them through me, just as He has blessed me through you.’ So he sent me to them and he said, ‘it is incumbent upon you to be kind and speak the truth, and do not be uncivil or arrogant, and do not be envious.’ Then he related that he went to his people and called them to that to which the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) had called him, and all of them embraced Islam, except one man from among them. He went with them in a delegation to the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), who welcomed them and greeted them warmly and he had a letter written for them, which stated, ‘In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful: This is a missive from Allah, from the lips of His Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him). It is a truthful writing and true speech, in the hands of ‘Amr Ibn Murrah Al-Juhani, for Juhainah Ibn Zaid: Verily, to you belong the valleys and the flatlands, and the banks of the rivers and their beds. You may grow crops and drink their pure waters, on the understanding that you agree to Al-khums, to offer the five daily prayers, to remain obedient … and there is no charity incumbent upon those who have only sufficient provisions for themselves. Those Muslims present bear witness on our Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) to the writing of Qais Ibn Shammas’.”
And Al-Hafiz Abu Nu‘aim narrated in Dala’il An-Nubuwwah on the authority of Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “The Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked, ‘When was the Prophethood made incumbent on you?’ He replied, ‘Between the creation of Adam and the breathing of the spirit into him.’ This is how it was narrated by At-Tirmidhi by way of Al-Waleed Ibn Muslim and he said, ‘It is hasan-ghareeb from Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) and we do not know it except from this source’.”
Carrying the same meaning is the Hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad on the authority of Al-‘Irbad Ibn Sariyah, who said, “The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Verily, I was with Allah the Seal of the Prophets when Adam was still only clay and I shall inform you of the start of that: It was the supplication of my father, Ibrahim, the glad tidings of ‘Eesa regarding me and the vision which my mother saw, as indeed did all of the mothers of the Prophets’.”
And Al-Hafiz Abu Nu‘aim narrated in Dala’il An-Nubuwwah on the authority of Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him), who reported from the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) that he said regarding the Saying of Allah, Most High: “And (remember) when We took from the Prophets their covenant.” (Soorah Al-Ahzab 33:7), “I was the first of the Prophets in creation and the last of them to be sent.”
And it was reported on the authority of Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) in the Hadith whose authenticity is agreed upon by Al-Bukhari and Muslim: “We who are the last shall be the first on the Day of Resurrection, except that every nation was given the Book before us and we were given it after them.”
And Allah, Most High, says, And (remember) when Allah took the Covenant of the Prophets, saying, “Take whatever I gave you from the Book and Hikmah (understanding of the Laws of Allah, etc.), and afterward there will come to you a Messenger (Muhammad) confirming what is with you; you must, then, believe in him and help him.” Allah said, “Do you agree (to it) and will you take up My Covenant (which I conclude with you)?” They said, “We agree.” He said, “Then bear witness; and I am with you among the witnesses (for this).” Then whoever turns away after this, they are the Fasiqoon (rebellious: those who turn away from obedience to Allah).” (Soorah Aal ‘Imran 3:81,82)
‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib (May Allah be pleased with him) and ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) said, “Allah did not send any Prophet except that He took from him a Covenant to the effect that if Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) was sent while he was alive, he would certainly believe in him, and support him and He commanded him to accept the Covenant on behalf of his people, if he was sent while they were alive, that they would certainly believe in him and support him.”
This is an allusion to, and an indication of the distinction bestowed on him and his superiority in all of the religions and in the words of all of the Prophets. It is also a notification to them and from them, that he will be sent as a Messenger at the end of time and that he is the noblest of the Messengers and the Seal of the Prophets. And
Ibrahim, Al-Khaleel (Peace be upon him), explained his affair, revealed the information about him and his secret. He also disclosed details of his nobility and honor, his birth and his land, in his saying, when he had completed the construction of the House (of Allah): “Our Lord! Send amongst them a Messenger of their own (and indeed Allah answered their invocation by sending Muhammad), who shall recite unto them Your Verses and instruct them in the Book (this Qur’an) and Al-Hikmah (full knowledge of the Islamic laws and jurisprudence or wisdom or Prophethood, etc.), and sanctify them.
Verily! You are the Almighty, the Most Wise.” (Soorah Al-Baqarah 2:129). So the first elucidation of the truth of his affair among the people of the Earth was on the lips of Ibrahim, Al-Khaleel, the noblest of the Prophets with Allah, after Muhammad – may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon them both and upon all of the Prophets. Due
to this, Imam Ahmad narrated on the authority of Luqman Ibn ‘Amir that he said, “I heard Abu Umamah (May Allah be pleased with him) say, I said, ‘O, Prophet of Allah! What was the start of your Prophethood?’ He said, ‘I am the supplication of my father, Ibrahim and the glad tidings of ‘Eesa, and my mother saw a vision in which a light was being emitted from her which illuminated the palaces of Ash-Sham’.” Imam Ahmad was alone in narrating this, and none of the compilers of the six Sunan narrated it.
Allah, Most High, says, “Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write (i.e. Muhammad) whom they find written with them in the Tawrah (Deut. xviii, 15) and the Injeel (John xiv, 16) – he commands them to do Al-Ma‘roof (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam has ordained), and forbids them from committing Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism of all kinds, and all that Islam has forbidden); he allows them as lawful At-Tayyibat ([i.e. all good and lawful] as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons, foods, etc.) and prohibits them as unlawful Al-Khaba’ith (i.e. all evil and unlawful as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons, foods, etc.), he releases them from their heavy burdens (of Allah’s Covenant) and from the fetters (bindings) that were upon them. So those who believe in him (Muhammad), honor him, help him and follow the light (the Qur’an) which has been sent down with him, it is they who will be successful.” (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:157)
Imam Ahmad narrated on the authority of Abu Sakhr Al-‘Uqaili that he said, “A Bedouin man said to me, ‘I brought some trade goods to Al-Madinah and when I finished selling them, I said, I will certainly meet this man and hear what he has to say. He said, ‘I encountered him in the company of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar and they were walking, so I followed them until they came to a Jewish man who was reciting the Tawrah and consoling himself thereby for the death of a son of his, as the best and most handsome of young men.’ On hearing this, the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘I implore you by Him Who revealed the Tawrah, do you find in this Book of yours a description of me and of my appearance?’ He replied in the negative by shaking his head. But his (dead) son said, ‘yes, by Him Who revealed the Tawrah, we find your description in our Book and of your appearance and I bear witness that none is worthy of worship except Allah and that you are the Messenger of
Allah.’ The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘Lift up your brother from this Jew.’ Then he delegated some people to shroud his body and to pray over him.” The isnad of this Hadith is good and it has supporting narrations in the Saheeh, on the authority of Anas Ibn Malik (May Allah be pleased with him).
And it is confirmed in the Saheeh that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) passed by the place where the Jews studied their Scripture and he said, “O, company of Jews! Embrace Islam, for by Him in Whose Hand is my soul, you certainly find my description in your Book.”
Imam Ahmad narrated on the authority of ‘Ata’ Ibn Yasar that he said, “I met ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Amr Ibn Al-‘As and I said, ‘Inform me about the descriptions of the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) in the Tawrah.’ He replied, ‘Certainly; by Allah, he is described in the Tawrah just as he is described in the Qur’an: O, Prophet! Verily, We have sent you as a witness, as a bringer of glad tidings, as a warner and as a sanctuary for the unlettered. You are My slave and My Messenger. I have named you Al-Mutawakkil; He is without coarseness and he is not harsh, nor does he act boisterously in the market places, nor return evil for evil. Instead, he pardons and forgives. And Allah will not take him unto Him until they (the Muslims) straighten the crooked religion, so that they (its adherents) say, ‘None is worthy of worship except Allah.’ Allah will open up the eyes of the blind, the ears of the deaf and the hearts that are wrapped.”
And the fact that he is mentioned in the books of the People of the Scripture is undeniable; this is proved by numerous Verses in the Qur’an, which we have discussed in the relevant place, all praise and thanks be to Allah. Such verses include the Words of Him, Most High: “Those to whom We gave the Scripture (i.e. the Tawrah and the Injeel, etc.) before it – they believe in it (the Qur’an). And when it is recited to them, they say, ‘We believe in it. Verily, it is the Truth from our Lord. Indeed even before it, we have been from those who submit themselves to Allah in Islam as Muslims.” (like Abdullah Ibn Salam and Salman Al-Farisi, etc.) (Soorah Al-Qasas 28:52,53). And He, Most High, says, “Those to whom We gave the Scripture (Jews and Christians) recognize him (Muhammad or the Ka‘bah in Makkah) as they recognize their sons. But verily, a party of them conceals the truth while they know it – (i.e. the qualities of Muhammad, which are written in the Tawrah and the Injeel.” (Soorah Al-Baqarah 2:146) And He, Most High, says, “Say (O, Muhammad, to them), ‘Believe in it (the Qur’an) or do not believe (in it). Verily! Those who were given knowledge before it (the Jews and the Christians like ‘Abdullah Ibn Salam and Salman Al-Farisi), when it is recited to them, fall down on
their faces in humble prostration.’ And they say, ‘Glory be to our Lord! Truly, the Promise of our Lord must be fulfilled’.” (Soorah Al-Isra 17:107,108) That is, if our Lord has promised us that Muhammad will come and that he will bring a Message, then it will certainly happen without any doubt; glory be to the All-Powerful, Who is Able to do as He wills and Whom nothing can hinder. And He, Most High, says, regarding the Christians, “And when they (who call themselves Christians) listen to what has been sent down to the Messenger (Muhammad, you see their eyes overflowing with tears because of the Truth they have recognized. They say, ‘Our Lord! We believe; so write us down among the witnesses’.” (Soorah Al-Ma’idah 5:83). And in the story of the Negus (of Abyssinia), Salman Al-Farisi, ‘Abdullah Ibn Salam and others, as we shall see, there are several testimonies to this. All praise and thanks be to Allah, from Whom proceeds all Grace.
By Ibn Katheer
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