Friday, Shawwal 6, Hijri 3, Uhad :
The dead bodies of 70 Muslim warriors were scattered all around the low area of Uhud. People moved around to identify the dead. Among the dead, a young man with his arms cut off and injuries on neck was lying on the ground dead. Musa’b bin Umair (r.a) had died while struggling to save the Prophet (pbuh).
Returning back to Madina, the patience of the Muslim women of Madina matched the heroic performance of their men. A woman struggled to reach the Prophet (pbuh) to find out if he was fine. She was Hamnah bin Jahsh. The prophet announced the death of her brother Abdullah. Innalillahi…. she responded. Then she was told about Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib’s matryrdom , .. innalillahi…. she responded. Then the news of her beloved husband Mus’aib bin Umair was delivered to her, she shouted and wept aloud…The Messenger said, ” The woman’s husband is extremly dear to her..
Back in Makkah only few years back, young Musaib was well known for his stylish life style, his wardrobe had the best Arab dresses and perfumes. His mother Khunaas Bint Maalik was among the richest lady of Makkah and people feared her almost to the point of terror because she possessed a strong personality. When the news of his embracing Islam reacher his mother, she aimed a heavy blow on him. However, under the pressure of her motherliness, she spared him the beating and the pain, although it was within her power to avenge her gods whom he had abandoned. Instead, she took him to a rough corner of her house and shut him in it. She put shackles on him and imprisoned him there. Mus’ab did not give up Islam so she threw him out of her house asking him to leave every luxury provided by her. He went away wearing a piece of rag cloth to cover himself.
When she said to him, “Go away, I am no longer your mother,” Mus’ab went close to her and said, “O Mother, I am advising you and my heart is with you, please bear witness that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.” She replied to him, angrily raging, “By the stars, I will never enter your religion, to degrade my status and weaken my senses!” So Mus’ab left the great luxury in which he had been living. He became satisfied with a hard life he had never seen before, wearing the roughest clothes, eating one day and going hungry another.
He went out one day to some Muslims while they were sitting around the Prophet, and no sooner did they see him than they lowered their heads and shed some tears for his wearing wornout garments. They were accustomed to his former appearance before he had become a Muslim, when his clothes had been like garden flowers, elegant and fragrant. The Prophet saw him with the eyes of wisdom, thankful and loving, and his lips smiled gracefully as he said, “I saw Mus’ab here, and there was no youth in Makkah more petted by his parents than he. Then he abandoned all that for the love of Allah and His Prophet!”
In a famous incident after the victory at Badr, the Muslims captured some Makkans and sought to ransom them. Mus’ab was passing by the ranks of the prisoners and stopped when saw his brother, Abu Azeez ibn Umayr among them. However, he instructed his brother’s captor to bind him securely and to extract a large ransom for the prisoner, because “his mother is a very rich woman” When the brother sought to remind Mus’ab of his relationship, Mus’ab replied: I only recognize brotherhood of the faith, this man is my brother, not you!”
At the end of Uhud, The Prophet (pbuh) stood at the remains of Mus’ab ibn ‘Umair saying, while his eyes were flowing with tears, love and loyalty, “Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah” (Surah Al Ahzab, ch 33:verse23) Then he gave a sad look at the garment in which he was shrouded and said, ” I saw you at Makkah, and there was not a more precious jewel, nor more distinguished one than you, and here you are bare-headed in a garment!” There was nothing to shroud him except his old shirt which could not reach his feet, so his feet were covered with grass and they burried him.
These jewels of Islam are the parameters for us to judge how high can we climb to Taqwa. Is our faith capable enough to sacrifice our extravagance style of life ? The moral of the story of Mu’sab: . Mus’ab did both. He lived for Islam and lived by Islam, and died for Islam and died on Islam. We are ready to die for Islam (as per our claims) but how many of use are willing to live for Islam ?
Author ;Nisaar Nadiadwala, speaks and writes on soio-economic issues from Islamic view point. He can be reached at nisaar_yusuf@yahoo.com