Chapter 9: PLEASING NABI ⟦AR:a1351⟧

As we have already seen from the stories in previous chapters, that obedience to Allah Ta’ala and His Nabi ﷺ was the guiding factor in the lives of Sahaabah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ . Stories given exclusively in this chapter are to enable us to examine our way of living and see how far we are prepared to please Allah Ta’ala and His Nabi ﷺ . We often desire the help and blessings of Allah Ta’ala which the Sahaabah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ received. If we desire similar results, then we shall have to live the way they had lived.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Amr ibnul Aas رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ says: “Once we were with Nabi ﷺ on a journey. When I went to see him, I was wearing a light red sheet. He asked me, ‘What is this that you are wearing?’ I felt that he did not like my red clothes. When I reached home, I found a fire burning in the fireplace. I threw my sheet into the fire. The next day when I went to Nabi ﷺ , he asked, ‘Where is that sheet?’ I told him what I had done to it. He said, ‘You could have given it to one of the ladies in your house. Women are allowed to wear clothes of that colour.’”

Note: In fact, Hadhrat Abdullah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ was so worried when Nabi ﷺ became unhappy, that he did not waste any time and destroyed the sheet. He did not even think of using it in another way. If we had been in his place, we would have thought of many excuses for keeping it, or at least we would have found some other use for it.

Nabi ﷺ once passed through a street of Madinah Munawwarah and saw a high building with a dome. He asked the Sahaabah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ , “What is this?” They told him that it was a new building built by one of the Ansaari Sahaabah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ . Nabi ﷺ remained silent. Once, the Sahaabi رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ who had built that house had come to Nabi ﷺ and greeted him with ‘Assalamu Alaikum.’ Nabi ﷺ turned his face away from him and did not give a reply.

Thinking that Nabi ﷺ may not have heard, he repeated the salaam, but Nabi ﷺ again turned his face away. He was very shocked to notice Nabi ﷺ angry with him. How could he withstand this displeasure?. He asked the Sahaabah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ who were there, what the reason was. He was told that Nabi ﷺ had asked about his new building. He immediately went and demolished the new building and did not even tell Nabi ﷺ what he had done. When Nabi ﷺ passed that way again, He asked: “Where is that building with a dome that I saw at this spot before?” The Sahaabah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ told him that the Sahaabi رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ broke it down because Nabi ﷺ was not happy with it.

Nabi ﷺ said: “Every new building is a sinful burden, except that which is necessary.”

Note: These are lessons of intense love and devotion. The Sahaabah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ could not see Nabi ﷺ being unhappy. As soon as they saw that he was unhappy with something, then at all costs, they immediately removed that which caused his displeasure. That Sahaabi رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ did not even tell Nabi ﷺ that he had demolished the building, as perhaps it may be seen as boasting. Nabi ﷺ himself noticed it later on. Nabi ﷺ did not like people wasting their money on buildings. His own house was built with date trees, with mats being used as walls for privacy. Once, when he was not in Madinah Munawwarah, his wife Ummu Salamah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهَا , who received some money, built walls of unbaked bricks for her house. When Nabi ﷺ returned from his journey, he asked her: “Why did you do this?” She replied: “O, Nabi of Allah. This is only to have better privacy.” Nabi ﷺ said, “The worst use of money is to spend it on buildings.” Hadhrat Abdullah bin Amr رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ says: “My mother and I were once repairing a wall of our house. Nabi ﷺ saw us working and said, ‘Your own death is nearer than the falling of this wall.’”

Raafi’ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ says: “We were once with Nabi ﷺ on a journey. The sheets that we had spread on our camels were decorated with red cotton. Nabi ﷺ said, ‘I notice that the colour red is beginning to attract you.’ We stood up and ran around in confusion because of this scolding so much so that our camels also began to run about. We immediately removed the sheets from their backs.”

Note: We are surprised on hearing such stories about Sahaabah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ , as we live in a different time with quite a different way of thinking. When the treaty of Hudaybiyyah was being discussed, Urwah bin Mas’ood رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ , who was a messenger of the Quraish, had a chance of carefully studying the behaviour of the Sahaabah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ . When he returned to his people, he told them: “I have met many great kings and rulers. I have met the Emperors of Persia, Rome and Abyssinia. Nowhere have I seen people showing respect to their ruler as the Sahaabah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ showed respect to Nabi Muhammad ﷺ . When he spits, his saliva is not allowed to fall on the ground. It is taken by somebody in his hands to wipe his face and body with it. When he gives an order, every person rushes to carry it out. When he makes wudhu, the Sahaabah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ compete with one another to grab the water falling down from his limbs so much so that someone will think that they are going to fight over that water. When he speaks, everybody is silent. Nobody lifts his eyes to look at him, out of respect for him.”

Waail ibn Hujar رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ says: “I once visited Nabi ﷺ when the hair on my head was long. While I was sitting with him, he said, ‘Zubaab, Zubaab’ (Meaning something evil or bad). I thought that he was unhappy with my hair. I returned home and had my hair cut. The next day when I again went to him, he said, ‘I was not talking about your hair yesterday. However, it is good that you had your hair cut.’”

Note: This shows the obedience of those people. They did not delay in acting upon the wishes of Nabi ﷺ . They acted on the slightest remark or indication of Nabi ﷺ , irrespective of whether their conclusion proved to be correct or not. They never thought it necessary to further enquire or clarify. In the early years, talking in Salaah was allowed. Once, Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mas’ood رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ visited Nabi ﷺ while he was performing his Salaah. As per his normal practise, he greeted him with “Assalaamu Alaykum” but received no reply, because to talk in Salaah had now been forbidden. He says, “After receiving no reply, all sorts of thoughts began to trouble my mind. I thought perhaps he is displeased with me, or he is angry with me, for something that I may have done. At last when Nabi ﷺ finished his Salaah and told me that Allah Ta’ala had forbidden talking in Salaah, I knew that he was not upset with me and I heaved a sigh of relief.”

One Sahaabi Suhail bin Hanzalah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ , lived a reserved life in Damascus. He did not mix much with people, or go anywhere. He was either busy in Salaah or in zikr throughout the day. While going to the Masjid, he would pass by Hadhrat Abu Darda رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ , who was one of the famous Sahaabah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ .

Hadhrat Abu Darda رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ would tell him: “O, Suhail! Let us hear some good words from you. We shall learn a lot and you will lose nothing.” Suhail رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ would then say something that he had heard from Nabi ﷺ , or that he had seen in his lifetime. One day as he was passing, Hadhrat Abu Darda رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ made his usual request. Hadhrat Suhail رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ said: “Once Nabi ﷺ spoke about Hadhrat Khuraym Asadi رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ and said, ‘He is a good man except for two habits, he keeps the hair of his head too long and he allows his ‘Izaar’ (trouser) to flow below his ankles.’ When Khuraym رَضىَ اللهُ عَنهُ learnt about this, he immediately cut his hair up to his ears and began to keep his ‘Izaar’ up to the middle of the calf of his leg.”

Note: It is mentioned in some narrations that Rasulullah ﷺ had mentioned both these aspects to him and he took a qasam that he will not do this in the future. There is no contradiction between these two narrations. It could be that Rasulullah ﷺ said it to him directly and in his absence and thereafter someone else mentioned it to him.

Abdullah-bin-‘Umar رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ said: “I have heard Nabi ﷺ saying, ‘Allow your women to go to the Masjid.’” One of his sons said: “We cannot allow our women to go to the Masjid, as this can cause problems later on.” Ibn ‘Umar رضِى الله عَنهُ became very angry and scolded his son, saying: “When I tell you that Nabi ﷺ has allowed our women to go to the Masjid, how dare you say that you cannot allow them?” He then refused to speak to him throughout his life.

Note: Ibn-Umar’s رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ son clearly had no intention of disobeying Nabi ﷺ . He feared many problems in allowing the women of that time to go to the Masjid and this was according to the social conditions of his era. For the same reason, Hadhrat Aa’ishah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهَا said: “If Nabi ﷺ had seen the women of our time, he would have stopped them from going to the Masjid.”

Hadhrat Aa’ishah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهَا said this not very long after the death of Nabi ﷺ . Still, Ibn-Umar ﷺ could not allow his son to refuse something which Nabi ﷺ had allowed and he stopped talking to him for the rest of his life. Other Sahaabah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ also faced the problem regarding women visiting the Masjid. On the one hand, there was the wish of Nabi ﷺ allowing them to go to the Masjid, and on the other hand there was the possibility of looseness in society (the signs of which were beginning) that demanded stopping them from going to the Masjid. A’atikah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهَا , the wife of Hadhrat ‘Umar رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ , went to the Masjid regularly but Hadhrat ‘Umar رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ did not like it. Somebody told her that Hadhrat ‘Umar رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ did not like her going to the Masjid. She said: “Why does he not stop me from going to Masjid?” After the death of Hadhrat ‘Umar رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ , A’atikah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهَا was married to Hadhrat Zubair رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ . He also did not like her going to the Masjid, but could not stop her for the above reason. Once he sat in her way to the Masjid and, as she passed by him, he teased her. In the dark, she could not make out who it was. After this incident, she stopped going to the Masjid. On a later occasion, Hadhrat Zubair رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ asked her: “Why don’t you go to the Masjid now?” She replied: “Times have changed.”

Somebody told Ibn ‘Umar رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ : “Allah Ta’ala has said something in the Qur-aan about Salaah in peace and Salaah in fear, but He has not said anything about Salaah during a journey.” He replied: “O, my nephew! When we knew nothing, Allah Ta’ala sent Nabi Muhammad ﷺ as his Nabi to us. We must do what we have seen him doing.”

Note: This shows that it is not necessary that each and every rule should be clearly mentioned in the Qur-aan. The actions of Nabi ﷺ are sufficient for us to practice on.

Nabi ﷺ says: “I have been given the Qur-aan and also other commands. Beware of the time which is coming shortly, when carefree people sitting on their couches will say, ‘Stick to the Qur-aan only. Carry out only the commands contained in it.’” This carefree attitude often afflicts those people who are intoxicated by their wealth.

A young nephew of Abdullah-bin-Mughaffal رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ was playing ‘Khazaf’ (A game played with stones). He told him: “O, Nephew! Stop doing that. Nabi ﷺ has said that it has no benefit. It cannot shoot a bird nor harm an enemy. But somebody’s eye or tooth can be injured accidently.” The boy stopped playing. As he was still small, after some time when he thought that his uncle was not watching him, he started again. Ibn Mughaffal رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ saw him playing. He got very angry and said: “How dare you do a thing after knowing what Nabi ﷺ has said? By Allah! I will never speak to you again.” In another narration it is mentioned that he said further, “I will never visit you when you are sick, nor join your funeral if you die during my lifetime.”

Note: ‘Khazaf’ is a game in which a pebble is placed on the thumb and then thrown with the force of the other fingers. Children are fond of playing such games. This game is such that one cannot hunt with it but somebody’s eye can be injured accidently. Ibn Mughaffal رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ could not allow his nephew ignoring the words of Nabi ﷺ . Don’t we know the instructions of Nabi ﷺ about many things which we are in a habit of doing from morning till evening? How worried are we about his commands? Let everybody think about it himself and answer.

Hadhrat Hakeem bin Hizaam رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ came to Nabi ﷺ and asked for something. Nabi ﷺ gave him something. He again came for the second time and asked for something. Nabi ﷺ gave him something this time also. When he came to ask for the third time, after giving him something, Nabi ﷺ said: “Hakeem! Money will mislead you. It appears to be very sweet (but it is really not so). It is a blessing when earned with satisfaction of the heart (by working), but there is no barakah in it when it is acquired with greed.” It is like a sickness where one eats but does not get filled. Hakeem said: “O, Nabi of Allah, I will not bother anybody after this.” Hadhrat Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ , in the time of his Khilaafat, wanted to help Hakeem رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ from the Baitul Maal, but he refused. Again Hadhrat ‘Umar رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ as Ameer-ul-Mu’mineen asked Hakeem many times to accept something from him, but he did not agree.

Note: It is because of our greed that we find no barakah in what we earn.

Hadhrat Huzayfah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ says: “In the Battle of Khandaq, we faced a very big army of the enemy, including the kuffaar from Makkah Mukarramah and other groups. At the same time, the Jews of Banu Quraizah in Madinah Munawwarah were about to break their promise, and we feared that they will destroy our houses and families, because we were outside defending Madinah Munawwarah against the enemies. The Munaafiqeen started asking permission from Nabi ﷺ to go back to Madinah Munawwarah, giving the excuse of their homes not being guarded. He allowed every one of them. One night, during those difficult days, such a storm came the like of which wasn’t seen before or since then. It was so dark that one could not see one’s own hand, and the wind was blowing wildly. The Munaafiqeen were returning to their homes. 300 of us stuck to our positions. Nabi ﷺ approached everyone and asked about him. I had neither weapons to defend myself, nor any clothes to keep me warm. I had only one small sheet, which I had borrowed from my wife. I wrapped it around my waist and sat with my knees on the ground. When Nabi ﷺ passed by me, he said, ‘Who are you?’ I said, ‘Huzayfah!’ I could not stand up because of the severe cold and I held onto the ground more tightly with shame.

He said, ‘Huzayfah, stand up and go to the enemy camp and bring us some news about them.’ Of all the Sahaabah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ , I was the most ill equipped, both against the enemy and against the cold that night, but as soon as I got the order, I stood up and left for the enemy camp. As I left, Nabi ﷺ made dua for me saying,

Translation: ‘O Allah! Protect him from the front, from the back, from the right, from the left, from above and from below.’

Translation: Immediately after his dua, I was completely relieved of my fear and cold. I felt as if I was walking in a warm and peaceful place. Nabi ﷺ warned me, ‘Return immediately after seeing what they are doing. Do not do anything else.’ When I reached the enemy camp, I found a fire burning with people sitting around it. Each person warmed his hands before the fire and then rubbed them over his body. The shouts of “Go Back” were heard from all directions. Everyone was shouting to the people of his tribe to pack up and return. The wind was causing the stones to fly and strike against their tents. The ropes of the tents were breaking and the animals were dying. I found Abu Sufyaan, the leader of the enemy forces, sitting near the fire warming himself. I thought of killing him. I had actually taken out an arrow from my quiver and placed it in my bow, when I remembered the order of Nabi ﷺ . I put the arrow back into the quiver. Whilst I was amongst them, they seemed to become aware of my presence. They shouted, ‘There is a spy amongst us. Each one of us should catch the hand of the person next to him.’ I immediately caught the hand of a person and shouted, ‘Who are you?’ He said, ‘Subhaanallah! You don’t know me. I am so and so.’ I then returned to my camp. While I was on my way back, I met twenty horsemen with turbans on their heads (these were angels). They said to me, ‘Tell your master that Allah Ta’ala has taken care of his enemy and that he has nothing to worry about now.’ When I reached my camp, I found Nabi ﷺ performing Salaah with a small shawl around him.

Translation: Whenever he was in any problem, he immediately began reading Salaah. When he had finished, I told him what I had seen in the enemy camp. When I told him how I escaped their ‘search for the spy’, I could see his beautiful teeth shining. He then asked me to lie down near his feet and put a corner of his shawl over my body. I lay down and pressed my chest against the soles of his feet.”

Note: Look at their desire to carry out the orders of Nabi ﷺ in all conditions. May Allah Ta’ala favour us with the same type of obedience, even though we do not deserve it. Aameen!