Sa’eed ibn Jubayr (meaning Sa’eed son of Jubayr) was a great man, born about 33 years after the prophet Muhammed’s death, peace and blessings be upon him.  Both sunni and shia scholars highly regard him as one of the best of the tabi’un (successors to the companions of the prophet).

Sulaiman Mulla is an excellent Muslim speaker and gave a lecture, during which he narrates the moving story of Sa’eed ibn Jubayr’s defiance in the face of a tyrant. I urge you to listen to this lecture by Sulaiman Mulla and hear the story of Sa’eed ibn Jubayr and his martyrdom.

Lecture: The Spiritual Chatroom <<<— Click to listen

Notes

(note 1: The first fifty seconds is in Arabic).

(note 2: Sa’eed ibn Jubayr’s story is not narrated at the start of the lecture, but after about ten minutes. Be patient for it and listen to the whole lecture).

Helpful Terminology

Sulaiman Mulla uses Arabic phrases frequently throughout the lecture, and so you will find it helpful to know these Arabic phrases:

the prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa salam,… = The prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,…

Ibraheem = Abraham

Sayyidina Moosa = our master Moses

Bani Israeel = the tribe of Israel

Dajaal = the antichrist

Melaheeka = angels

Seera/Soorah = Chapter (of the Quran)

My nabee = my prophet (Muhammed)

Sahaba = companions

Ibaadah = worship (of Allah)

Dua = prayers of supplication

©2012 Path of Islam. All Rights Reserved.

He was born in New Mexico, USA. His parents are from Yemen where he lived for eleven years and received the early part of his Islamic education. He has served as an Imam in Colorado, California, and Washington, DC.

Imam Anwar is the Muslim Imam at George Washington University. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University, a M.A. in Education Leadership from San Diego State University and is currently working on a Doctorate degree in Human Resource Development at George Washington University.

He is the author of a series of Audio lectures on the “Lives of the Prophets”, covering the stories of the Prophets from Adam to Jesus (pbuh) of which over 20,000 copies have been published. The series is drawn from Imam Ibn Kathir’s “Al-Bidayah wa An-Nihayah”.

Listen to some of his lectures here.

You may read Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki’s blog, or contact the Imam here: http://www.anwar-alawlaki.com/

This information was taken from here.

©2012 Path of Islam. All Rights Reserved.

To live or die for anything or nothing is the thinking of the unwise, whereas wise men and women do not live or die save for great and inspiring goals.

Thus, when the need arises, you find them willing to sacrifice their own lives for the sake of the lofty goals in which they believe. Some of them consider their own words and beliefs mere toys made of wax, but, whenever they have to die for or because of them, these words and beliefs turn into living, prime examples that inspire those who are left behind.

This is what one understands every time he or she reads the Glorious Qur’an, especially the narrative of the young boy whose story is briefly hinted at in Surat Al-Buruj (Surah 85). It is also elucidated in an authentic hadith narrated by Imam Muslim.

According to the story narrated there, after the miracles showed by Almighty Allah through the young boy’s hands had been revealed to everyone, the king intended to have him killed. The king sent him with his soldiers and said to them, “Take him to such and such mountain; make him climb up that mountain, and when you reach its top, ask him to renounce his faith; if he refuses to do so, throw him down the mountain.”

The soldiers took the boy and did what they were commanded to; upon that, the boy said, “O Allah, save me from them in any way You like.” Then, the mountain began to quake, and they all fell down except for the young boy, who came back to the king walking.

The king was surprised, yet he decided to make another attempt to have him killed. Again, he handed him to some of his courtiers and said to them, “Take him and carry him in a small boat, and when you reach the middle of the ocean, ask him to renounce his religion, and if he still refuses, then throw him into the water.”

So, they took him, and again, he said, “O Allah, save me from them and what they want to do.” It was quite soon that the boat capsized and they were drowned, and the boy came back once again walking to the surprise of the king.

Why did the young boy invoke Almighty Allah not to let him die in either way (falling from the top of the mountain or drowning in the sea), though any of these two deaths would have been martyrdom in the cause of Allah?

This and other questions arise every time one reads a similar story in the Qur’an or the Sunnah. The purpose of relating these stories is not entertainment. Rather, they are related in these two main sources of Shari`ah (i.e. the Qur’an and the Tradition of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him) to give us a chance to contemplate over their incidents and thus deduce lessons of wisdom that may help us go through this present life.

Therefore, there must be a capable deity that sustains the whole world; this Deity should be so powerful and mighty and must be the Lord of the young boy!

To my mind, the young boy supplicated Allah for salvation in the two incidents because should he die in this way, no one would ever hear of his death and thus he would have made no difference. It is true that if he died in any of these two attempts, he would have been a martyr. But, a discerning look at the whole story makes one believe that martyrdom was not his sole, final goal. He had something else in mind: To scheme a perfect plan aided by the Creator of everything.

His scheme was to expose the big fallacy engraved in the minds of people regarding the godhood of the king and his claimed infallibility. By this, he wanted to hit two birds with one stone: He wanted to earn martyrdom in the cause of Allah and, at the same time, persuade people to regard the king as a mere vulnerable human being, nothing less and nothing more.

He wanted them to revolt against the king and to voice their would-be newly discovered beliefs: You are not a god — you are just a human being like the rest of us; you need to eat and drink, and you also need to relieve yourself in the water closet. Therefore, there must be a capable deity that sustains the whole world; this Deity should be so powerful and mighty and must be the Lord of the young boy!

That is why the young boy came back walking to the king after surviving the second attempt to show him the only way in which he himself can be killed. Heedless as he was, the king rejoiced and missed the whole point: By the death of the young boy in the way he advised the king, the latter’s own kinghood would disappear and his own lies would be exposed.

The story continued as the young boy said to the king, “You cannot kill me until you do what I ask you to do.” The king asked, “What is that?” The young boy said, “You should gather the people in a plain and hang me by a trunk of a tree. Then, take hold of an arrow from the quiver and say, ‘In the name of Allah, the Lord of the young boy’ before shooting the arrow. Only in this way will you be able to kill me.”

Shrouded in his deep obliviousness, the king called the people in an open plain and tied the young boy to a trunk of a tree. Exactly as the young boy told him, he took hold of an arrow from his quiver and then placed the arrow in the bow and said loudly, “In the name of Allah, the Lord of the young boy.” He then shot the arrow, which hit the young boy’s temple.

The young boy placed his hands upon his temple and then died. Having witnessed this, the people said, “We affirm our faith in the Lord of this young boy; we affirm our faith in the Lord of this young boy; we affirm our faith in the Lord of this young boy.”

This is what the young boy exerted himself to do and this is what he strived for: To let the people, all people, see with their own eyes the truth about the Lord of all worlds and the falsehood and incapability of the king. Witnessing an event is indeed far more effective than only hearing about it. As the saying goes, an eyewitness is better than hearsay.

Afterward, the courtiers came to the king and said, “Do you not see that Allah has actually done the very thing you always wanted to avert? The people have affirmed their faith in the Lord.” The king commanded his courtiers to dig ditches at important points in the path. When these ditches were dug and fire was set in them, it was said to the people, “Those who refuse to leave the boy’s religion would be thrown in this fire.”

Indeed, that is how all tyrants deal with issues related to freedom of thought and freedom of belief: They burn people out! They commit those savageries without even discussing the basis on which the people made their own choice, whether it is right or wrong. They leave no place for discussion, no time for negotiation, and no will for initiating any change whatsoever. Either people accept the tyrant’s way or they get themselves thrown in the fire!

Eventually, the people preferred to die rather than renounce their newfound faith. Yet, among them was a woman who came with her baby between her arms and hesitated to jump into the fire. To her astonishment, the child — still a baby — said to her, “O mother, endure this ordeal, for it [the newfound religion] is the Truth.”

Yes, surely it is the Truth. Nowadays, in this critical time when Islam and its great Messenger, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), are defamed day and night, Allah’s religion requires us, all of us, to live by and for this truth in all aspects of life.

We should endeavor to achieve once more what was achieved by Prophet Muhammad and his Companions in the past. They succeeded in making Islam firmly established in the land with all people acknowledging and respecting it and with no fear of injustice or coercion whatsoever. They succeeded in rendering Islam a powerful and constructive entity that protects the weak, sustains the needy, and stands in the face of tyranny and injustice of whatever form or severity.

One day, one of my teachers told me that in one way or another, all characters of that story can be found in our time except for only one character. One can find the king, the soldiers, and of course the masses.

However, the only character that one cannot find is the young boy who had endeavored to call for Allah and at whose hands victory came in fulfillment of Allah’s promise; a promise to grant victory to those who believe and exert themselves for His sake. Almighty says in His glorious Qur’an:

[And indeed Allah shall definitely give victory to whomsoever vindicates Him. Surely Allah is indeed Ever-Powerful, Ever-Mighty.] (Al-Hajj 22:40)

Now, can you, yourself, be that young boy?

Ali Al-Halawani is a doctoral candidate, the managing editor of the Shari`ah Department (English IslamOnline.net), and deputy editor in chief of the the same site. He graduated from Al-Azhar University and got his MA in religious translation from the Faculty of Al-Alsun (Languages), Al-Minia University. He writes occasionally for Islamonline.net. You can reach him at ali.halawani@iolteam.com.

©2012 Path of Islam. All Rights Reserved.

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©2012 Path of Islam. All Rights Reserved.

©2012 Path of Islam. All Rights Reserved.

Once there was a community of Muslims who were small in number yet large in iman and strong in action. So much so that, the kufaar [non-believers] could not defeat them in battle even though they had the Muslims out numbered.One day a young man from the kufaar pretended to enter into Islam and he went to the big sheik [learned man] in one part of the city and listened to his teaching of the Quran. The subject happened to be on the chapter of the Quran called Al Kahaf (the Cave, #18].

When the sheik completed his talk he offered a chance for the brothers present to ask some questions. When it came the turn of the kafar, he asked the sheik the question:

“Sir, in the story of the ‘sleepers’ in the cave, there is mention of a dog. And I was wondering if I might inquire as to what color the dog might have been? I hope you don’t mind my asking, especially if it is something that maybe you don’t know the answer to.”

Immediately the sheik says to the young man, “That’s no problem at all, everyone should know that the dog was YELLOW.”

The young man said, “Are you sure? I mean, could it have been another color?”

“No.” replied the old sheik, “It was definitely YELLOW.” Once again the young man thanked him and when on his way.

The next night the young kafr man went to the other side of town and sat in another gathering of knowledge and they too were discussing different things about verses in the Quran.

So when it came time for the teacher to give each person attending, the opportunity to ask a question, the kafr man raised his hand and then asked the question, “In the chapter about the “Cave”, the sleepers are mentioned in different numbers but each time there is a reference to their dog as being counted along with them. Now I was wondering whether or not anyone of knowledge has ever made any reference to what the color the dog might have been?”

The sheik immediately said, “Yes! The dog in this story in the Quran was BLACK.”

The young kafar man was pleased and continued, “Sir, are you quite certain that the color of the dog mentioned in the story was BLACK?”

“Young man,” he quickly replied, “I’ll stake my reputation on that as a fact.”

“Thank you, sir.” Said the young man.

The next night the kafar posing as a Muslim went back to the first sheik and then when it came time for the questions and answers he raised his hand and asked, “Sheik, may Allah reward you for all your effort and knowledge and for sharing it with us. Could you maybe remind me about the answer to the question the other night about the color of the dog in the cave in Surah Al-Kahaf?” (Holy Quran: Chapter 18).

The sheik said, “There is no doubt whatsoever amongst the great scholars of Islam on this question. The dog was YELLOW. And anyone who says other than this has no knowledge.”

With that the young man spoke up again and said, “Sir, what would you say if someone else said that he would stake his reputation of being a scholar in Islam on the fact that the dog is not yellow, but rather that the dog is most certainly BLACK?”

The sheik quickly replied, “Then his reputation is not that of a scholar but one of a fool.”

Now the next time the kafr man went to the sheik that was upholding the idea of the dog being BLACK, he told the sheik that the sheik on the other side of town was calling him names and saying that he had no knowledge of Islam and that for sure that the dog was YELLOW. The old sheik became angry and shouted, “You tell him, that I said he is the one without knowledge. I’m the one who graduated from the greatest of schools of Islam, while he is but a fool.”

The plan was working. Before long the community was divided into two groups. Each group was claiming that their sheik was the one with the correct answer.

Fighting broke out in the streets and the Muslims began attacking each other all over the city. Everyone became involved to the extent that there was not a single person who was excluded from this terrible situation. Screaming, shouting, hitting and fighting were everywhere.

And then it happened. The kafr went back out to his people and told them, “Let us go to fight them now. You will now find them most easy to defeat.”

And that is exactly what they did.

©2012 Path of Islam. All Rights Reserved.

After praising and thanking Allah the Prophet (saws) said:

“O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying very carefully and take these words to those who could not be present here today.

O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city [Mecca] as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that he will indeed reckon your deeds. Allah has forbidden you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest obligations shall henceforth be waived. Your capital is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity. Allah has judged that there shall be no interest and that all the interest due to Abbas ibn ‘Abd’al Muttalib [the Prophet's uncle] be waived.

Every right arising out of homicide in pre-islamic days is henceforth waived and the first such right that I waive is that arising from the murder of Rabiah ibn al Harithibn.

O People, the unbelievers indulge in tampering with the calendar in order to make permissible that which Allah forbade, and to forbid that which Allah has made permissible. With Allah the months are twelve in number. Four of them are holy, three of these are successive and one occurs singly between the months of Jumada and Shaban.

Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope of that he will be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.

O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah’s trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right, then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with anyone of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste. O People, listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, say your five daily prayers, fast during the month of Ramadhan, and give your wealth in Zakat. Perform Hajj if you can afford to.

All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over a white – except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not therefore do injustice to yourselves. Remember one day you will meet Allah and answer your deeds. So beware: do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me, and no new [true] faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand my words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Qur’an and ______* and if you follow these/this you will never go astray.

All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O Allah, that I have conveyed Your message to Your people.”

(*note: The main two sects of Islam differ in their records of this sentence. Sunni Muslims record “the Qur’an and the Sunnah”, while Shia Muslims record “the Qur’an and the Family of the Prophet).

©2012 Path of Islam. All Rights Reserved.