CHAPTER TWO: CLOSE COMPANIONS – PART 2
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to favour some of them with certain things over the rest of the Companions:
Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri narrated that the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, gave a speech during his final sickness, and said: “Allah gave a slave a choice between giving him the beauty of this life, and between what is with Him, so he chose what is with Allah.” So Abu Bakr cried profusely and said: “May our fathers and mothers be sacrificed for you!” I said to myself, “Why is this old man crying, just because Allah gave a slave a choice between this life and between what is with Him, so he chose what
is with Allah?”
So (we realized) that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was that slave, and Abu Bakr was the most knowledgeable amongst us. The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “O Abu Bakr, do not cry. The person who has given me the most from his companionship and wealth is Abu Bakr. If I were to take an intimate friend from my nation, I would have taken Abu Bakr. But [he has] the brotherhood and love of Islam. Every door in the mosque should be closed, except
for the door of Abu Bakr.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari (3904) and Muslim (2382).)
Ibn Hajar said: “Abu Bakr understood that this was referring to the death of the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.” (Fat-h Al-Baari (12/7).)
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, tolerated from them what he would not tolerate from others:
‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab said:
“When ‘Abdullaah ibn Ubayy ibn Salool died, the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was called to pray over him. So when he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, stood, I went up quickly to him and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, are you going to pray over Ibn Ubayy, when he said such and such (bad thing about you) on a certain day?” I recounted some of what he had said. The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, smiled and said: ‘’’Umar, get away from me.” When I spoke to him persistently, he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “I have been given a choice and I have chosen. If I knew that he would be forgiven if I increased more than seventy times, I would have increased (referring to the verse 80 of Chapter 9).”
The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, prayed over him and then left. It was not long before the two verses of [Quran: 9] were revealed (which mean): «And do not pray [the funeral prayer, O Muhammad], over any of them who have died [ever] or stand at his grave. Indeed, they disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger and died while they were defiantly disobedient. » [Quran: 9:84] Later I was amazed at my audacity towards the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, that day, and Allah and His Messenger know best.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari (1366) and Muslim (2400).)
Ibn Hajar said: “So the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, endured the way ‘Umar spoke to him in that situation, and he only turned to him and smiled.” (Fat-h Al-Baari (335/1).)
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, depended on some of them for his personal affairs:
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, depended on Bilal ibn Rabah, one of the earliest Muslims, to manage his expenses.
‘Abdullaah Al-Hawzaani (a scholar) said:
“I met Bilaal who was in charge of calling the call for prayer for the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in Aleppo. I said: ‘O Bilaal, tell me about the spending of the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.’ He said: ‘There was nothing except that I used to take care of it for him, from the time he was sent as a prophet until he died. If a person came to the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, as a Muslim and he was not clothed, he would send me to borrow some money, so I would buy a garment for that person and feed him.
I once met a man from the polytheists who told me, ‘O Bilaal, I have extra money, so do not borrow from anyone but me,’ so I did so. One day I performed ablution and went to call the call for prayer, when I was met by that polytheist, and he was with a group of merchants. When he saw me, he said: ‘O Ethiopian!’ I said: “At your service.” He had a terrible look on his face, and said harsh words to me. He then said: ‘Do you know how much is left of the month?’ I said it is close, to which he replied, ‘You only have four days left, and then I will take you to account for the debt, for I did not lend you what I did out of your honour, or the honour of your companion (i.e. the Prophet). Rather I only did that so you would become my slave (when you did not repay me), and I would return you to shepherding sheep as you did before.’
So I became worried, until I prayed the evening prayer and the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, returned to his home. I asked permission to enter upon him, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and he gave me permission. I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, may my mother and father be sacrificed for you! The polytheist that I used to borrow from said such and such to me, and you and I do not have the money to repay him, and he will expose me. Give me permission to go to some of the tribes that have become Muslim, until Allah and His Messenger will provide what will repay the debt.
I then went to my home, and slept with my sword, water pouch and shoes by my head.
I faced the horizon and I would fall asleep and wake up, and when I saw it was still night time and I would return to sleep. When the first signs of morning showed (just before dawn) and I wanted to go out, I heard a person hurrying and calling out, ‘O Bilaal, answer the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.’ I went out to
him, and found four riding animals kneeling with all their loads on them. I asked permission to enter, and the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said to me: ‘Glad tidings, Allah has brought to you the repayment!’ so I praised Allah. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Did you see the four riding animals?” to which I said: ‘Yes.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “They are yours, along with what is on them. For they have on them clothes and food that was given to me by the
leader of Fadak, so take them and pay the debt.” I did so, and I took their loads off and tied them up. I went to make the call for the Dawn prayer, and when the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, prayed I went to Al-Baqee’, and placed my fingers in my ears and called out, ‘Whoever has a debt upon the Messenger of Allah, come here.’
I continued to sell and repay until the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, had no debt upon him anywhere. There remained with me a certain amount, so I went to the mosque when most of the day had passed. I found the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, sitting in the mosque by himself, so I greeted him. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said to me: “What happened to what you had [i.e. was it sufficient to repay the debts]?” I said: ‘Allah has repaid by it everything that was upon the Messenger of Allah and nothing else is due upon him.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi
wa sallam, said: “Did some [money] remain?” I said: ‘Yes’, so he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “I will wait until you relieve me from it [by spending it in charity], for I will not enter upon my family until you relieve me from it.” No one came until nighttime, and when the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, finished the prayer he asked: “What happened to what you had?” I said: ‘It is still with me, for no one came to us.’ The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, slept in the mosque
that night and he remained there the second day. At the end of the day, two people came riding, so I went to them and gave them clothes and food. Then when the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, prayed the Night prayer, he called me and said: “What happened to what was with you?” I said: ‘Allah has relieved you from it, O Messenger of Allah.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, glorified Allah and praised Him.”(Reported by Abu Dawood (3055).)
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would check on his Companions if they were absent:
Anas ibn Maalik (a Companion) narrated that when this verse was revealed (which means): «O you who have believed, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet or be loud to him in speech like the loudness of some of you to others, lest your deeds become worthless while you perceive not.» [Quran: 49:2], Thaabit ibn Qays sat in his home, and said: “I am from the people of the Fire!” and stayed away from the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, asked Sa’d ibn Mu’adh (a Companion): “O Abu ‘Amr, what is the matter with Thaabit, is he sick?” Sa’d replied, “He is my neighbour, I do not know anything wrong with him.” Sa’d then went to Thaabit and mentioned to him what the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said. Thaabit said: “This verse was revealed, and as you know I am one of the loudest people in front of Allah’s Messenger, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, so I am from the people of the Hellfire!”
Sa’d went and mentioned this to the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, to which he replied: “Rather, he is from the people of Paradise.”(Reported by Al-Bukhari (3613) and Muslim (119).)
Qurrah ibn Iyaas (a Companion) narrated that a man came to the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, with his son, so he said to him, “Do you love him?” He said: “May Allah love you as I love him.” Then he died, so when the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, did not see him he asked about him. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said to his father: “Are you not pleased to not come to any gate of Paradise, except that you will find him running to open it for you?” (Reported by An-Nasa’i (1870) and Ahmad (19825).)
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to check on them particularly in difficult times:
Zayd ibn Thaabit (a Companion) narrated:
“The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, sent me on the day of the Battle of Uhud to look for Sa’d ibn Ar-Rabee’ and he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said to me: ‘If you see him, then convey to him my greetings, and tell him: ‘The Messenger of Allah asked you how you are doing’.’’ So I began to look through the dead, and I found him in his last moments. He had over seventy wounds on his body from being struck by spears, swords, and arrows.
I said to him, ‘O Sa’d, the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, conveys to you his greeting, and asks, ‘How are you doing?’ He said: ‘Peace be upon the Messenger of Allah and upon you. Tell him I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, I discern the fragrance of Paradise. And tell my people, the Ansaar: You have no excuse if the Messenger of Allah is harmed while you still can blink an eyelash.’ Then he passed away.” (Reported by Al-Bayhaqi (269/3) and Maalik (884).)
Sulaymaan Al-Baaji (a scholar) said: “This is an example of the Prophet’s concern for his Companions, for he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to search for one who was absent from them to know his condition.” (Al-Muntaqa Sharh Al-Muwatta’ (68/3).)
Muhammad ibn Yoosuf Ash-Shaami (a scholar) said: “When Sa’d said: “I find the fragrance of Paradise”, it is possible that he meant that in a literal sense, meaning he smelled a fragrance that he never smelled before, so he knew that it was Paradise. Or he could have said this out of his certainty (that he would soon enter Paradise), so it was as if he could truly smell it.” (Subul Al-Huda war-Rashaad Fi Seerati Khayril ‘Ibad (247/4).)
By Muhammad Saalih Al-Munajjid
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