Men of Excellence

In today’s sermon, His Holiness (aba) continued to narrate accounts from the life of Hazrat Sa’d bin Mu’adh (ra). His Holiness (aba) stated that there was an incident during the Battle of Badr, which highlights the expression of love and devotion and was mentioned in the previous sermon.

His Holiness (aba) stated that Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) has also narrated this incident in his unique way.

Determination to Fight the Enemy

Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) said that it is natural that a person who loves someone desires that no harm should be afflicted upon their beloved and such a person does not even entertain the thought of their beloved entering the battlefield. All efforts are exerted to stop their beloved from going to battle. Similar was the case of the Companions (ra); they were opposed to the idea of the Holy Prophet (sa) going to war. History provides evidence of this.

At the time of Badr, when the Holy Prophet (sa) told his party that it was no longer the caravan they had to confront but the army from Mecca. He asked everyone for their counsel. One after another, his Meccan followers stood up. They assured the Holy Prophet (sa) of their loyalty and zeal, and of their determination to fight the Meccan enemy who had come to attack the Muslims of Medina in their homes. Every time the Holy Prophet (sa) heard a Meccan Muslim, he asked for further counsel and advice. The Muslims of Medina had been silent.

When the Holy Prophet (sa) insisted on more and more counsel, Hazrat Sa’d bin Mu’adh (ra) stood up and said, ‘O Prophet (sa) of Allah, you have received much counsel, but you continue to seek more. Perhaps you refer to us, the Muslims of Medina. Is that true?’ ‘Yes’ said the Holy Prophet (sa).

‘You ask for our counsel,’ he said, ‘because you think that when you came to us, we agreed to fight on your side only in case you and your fellow emigrants from Mecca were attacked in Medina. But now we seem to have come out of Medina, and you feel that our agreement does not cover the conditions under which we find ourselves today.

But O Messenger (sa) of Allah, when we entered into that agreement, we did not know you as well as we do now. We know now what high spiritual station you hold. We care not for what we agreed to. We now stand by you, whatever you ask us to do.

We will not behave like the followers of Moses, who said, “Go you and your God and fight the enemy, we remain here behind.”

If we must fight, we will, and we will fight to the right of you, to the left of you, in front of you and behind you. True, the enemy wants to get at you. But we assure you that he will not do so without stepping over our dead bodies.’

Loyalty and Devotion

His Holiness (aba) then shared an incident which highlights the loyalty and devotion of Hazrat Sa’d bin Mu’adh (ra) for the Holy Prophet (sa). At the time of Badr a tent was pitched for the Holy Prophet (sa) upon the proposal of Hazrat Sa’d bin Mu’adh (ra). Then Hazrat Sa’d bin Mu’adh (ra) said to the Holy Prophet (sa):

‘O Messenger (sa) of Allah! Take a seat in this tent, and we shall fight the enemy in the name of Allah. If Allah grants us victory, then this is our very desire. But if God-forbid, the matter takes a turn for the worse, then take your mount and reach Madinah in any way possible. There you shall find our brethren and kindred, who are no less than us in love and sincerity. However, since they were unaware that they would be confronted by war in this campaign, they have not come along. Otherwise, they would never have remained behind. When they become aware of the state of affairs, they shall not desist in laying down their lives to protect you.’

Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad (ra) states: ‘This was the passionate sincerity of Hazrat Sa’d (ra), which is worthy of praise in any case; but can it be fathomed that the Messenger (sa) of Allah would ever flee from the field of battle? As such, in the field of Hunain, an army of 12,000 turned their backs, but this centre of divine unity did not shake an inch.’

Love of Hazrat Sa’d bin Mu’adh’s (ra) Mother for the Holy Prophet (sa)

His Holiness (aba) then shared a very moving incident which has been narrated by Hazrat Musleh Mau’d (ra). This incident took place after the Battle of Badr when the Holy Prophet (sa) was returning to Medina, and it highlights the love that the mother of Hazrat Sa’d bin Mu’adh (ra) had for the Holy Prophet (sa).

Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) states:

‘The cord of his dromedary was held by Sa’d bin Mu’adh (ra), a chief of Medina. Hazrat Sa’d (ra) was leading the dromedary pompously. He seemed to proclaim to the world that Muslims had after all succeeded in leading the Prophet back to Medina hale and hearty. As he was advancing he saw his own aged mother advancing to meet the returning party of Muslims. This aged woman was very weak-sighted. Sa’d recognised her and, turning to the Holy Prophet (sa), said, “Here, O Prophet (sa), is my mother.’

‘Let her come forward,’ replied the Holy Prophet (sa).

The woman came forward and with a vacant look tried to spot the Holy Prophet’s (sa) face. At last, she was able to spot it and was glad. The Holy Prophet (sa) seeing her said, ‘Woman, I grieve over the loss of thy son.’

‘But,’ replied the devoted woman, ‘After I have seen you alive, I have swallowed all my misfortunes.’

The Arabic expression she used was ‘I have roasted my misfortune and swallowed it. What depth of emotion does this expression indicate. Normally, grief eats up a human being, and here was an aged woman who had lost her son, a staff for her old age. But she said that, instead of letting her grief eat her up, she had eaten up her grief. The fact that her son had died for the Holy Prophet (sa) would sustain her during the rest of her days.’

Execution of Ka’b bin Ashraf

His Holiness (aba) then mentioned the decision of the Holy Prophet (sa) to execute Ka’b bin Ashraf. Ka’b bin Ashraf was an enemy of Islam who had schemed against the Muslims to the extent that he had also plotted to assassinate the Holy Prophet (sa). His Holiness (aba) mentioned that this incident had been mentioned previously in great detail. Nevertheless, he shared certain details of this decision, mentioned specifically that the companions should not undertake this task without first taking counsel from Hazrat Sa’d bin Mu’adh (ra).

His Holiness (aba) then shared specific details leading up to the Battle of Banu Quraizah. He stated that due to the lengthy details of this incident, he will relate them in future.

Summary prepared by The Review of Religions