Friday Sermon – Khalifatul Masih V – Mirza Masroor Ahmad – Year 2019
Peace be upon you all, Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah
I bear witness that Muhammad (saw) is the Messenger of Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad (saw) is the Messenger of Allah. Come to Prayer, Come to Prayer Come to success, Come to success Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest. There is none worthy of worship except Allah. Peace be upon you all,
I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah He is alone and has no partner and I bear witness that Muhammad (saw) is His Servant and Messenger After this I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the accursed. In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds. The Gracious, the Merciful. Master of the Day of Judgment. Thee alone do we worship and Thee alone do we implore for help. Guide us in the right path – The path of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings,
Those who have not incurred displeasure, and those who have not gone astray. Today, I will give an account on the life of Hazrat Amir Bin Fuhairah (ra). A very detailed account of his life is recorded in history. He played a role in some of the most important incidents in the history of Islam
And he was enabled to be part of them. Those incidents are such that it is important to mention their details as well. His title was Abu Amr and he belonged to the tribe of Azad. He was an African slave of Tufail Bin Abdullah Bin Sakhbarah, who was the stepbrother of Hazrat Aisha (ra).
The term used here means for stepbrother means that he was her brother from the same mother but they had different fathers. He was among those who were the first to accept Islam. He had accepted Islam before The Messenger of Allah (saw) went to Darul Arqam.
He used to graze the goats of Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra). Many a hardship was inflicted upon him by the disbelievers after he accepted Islam. Later on, Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) bought and set him free. He used to graze the goats of Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) during the time of the Migration to Medina,
When The Messenger of Allah (saw) and Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) were in the cave on Mount Thaur. Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) had instructed him to regularly bring the goats to them. Hence, he used to graze the goats all day long
And then take the goats of Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) close to the cave on Mount Thaur. Then, both of them, that is The Holy Prophet (saw) and Hazrat Abu Bakr used to milk the goats themselves. When Abdullah Bin Abi Bakr used to go and visit both of them,
That is The Holy Prophet (saw) and Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra), he used to be followed by Hazrat Amir Bin Fuhairah (ra) so that his footsteps may be erased in a way that no one would be able to tell where he went to and the disbelievers may not become suspicious in any way.
When The Holy Prophet (saw) and Hazrat Abu Bakr came out of the cave on Mount Thaur and proceeded to Medina, Hazrat Amir Bin Fuhairah (ra) also migrated with them. Hazrat Abu Bakr sat him behind himself [on the camel].
At that time, a mushrik from the tribe of Banu Adi was navigating the way for them. After the Migration, the Holy Prophet (saw) established a bond of brotherhood between Hazrat Amir Bin Fuhairah (ra) and Hazrat Harith Bin Aus Bin Mu’az. Hazrat Amir Bin Fuhairah (ra) participated in the Battles of Badr and Uhud.
He was martyred during the incident of Bi’r-e-Ma’unah at the age of 40. Before the Migration, Hazrat Abu Bakr helped to free seven such slaves who used to be tortured for the sake of Allah the Exalted. Hazrat Bilal was one of them and Hazrat Amir Bin Fuhairah (ra) was also among those.
Narrating the incident of Migration, Hazrat Aisha (ra) states that, “Once we were sitting at the house of Hazrat Abu Bakr at noon.” That is, they were sitting in their own home. “A caller said to Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) that The Holy Prophet (saw) was coming “while his head is covered with a cloth.
“He came at a time, at which he usually did not come to us. “When he arrived, Hazrat Abu Bakr said, ‘May my parents be sacrificed for your sake, ‘by God, the fact that you have come here means that there is certainly for an important task.’”
Hazrat Aishah (ra) further states: “By this time, The Holy Prophet (saw) arrived at the house and “sought permission to enter inside. “Hazrat Abu Bakr permitted him and The Holy Prophet (saw) entered. “The Holy Prophet (saw) said to Hazrat Abu Bakr, ‘Send everyone who is with you out’.
“Hazrat Abu Bakr replied, ‘O Prophet (saw) of Allah! May my parents be sacrificed for your sake. ‘There are only your family members present in the house.’” That is, Hazrat ‘Aisha and her mother, Umm-e-Roman. “Upon this, The Holy Prophet (saw) said, ‘I have been granted permission to migrate.’
“Hazrat Abu Bakr said, ‘O Prophet (saw) of Allah! Please take me with you. ‘May my parents be sacrificed for your sake.’ “Upon this, The Holy Prophet (saw) said, ‘Indeed, you should come with me.’ “Following this, Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) said, ‘May my parents be sacrificed for your sake.
‘If I am to accompany you, you should take one of my two camels to travel with.’ “The Holy Prophet (saw) replied that, ‘I will take it in exchange for a price.’” Hazrat Aisha (ra) further narrates: “Hence, we quickly prepared and packed their items.
“We prepared some provisions for them and packed them in a leather bag. “The daughter of Hazrat Abu Bakr, Hazrat Asma’, “cut a piece off her waist band and tied the bag with it. “For this reason, she is known as Zat-un-Nitaq [the one with the belt].
“Following this, The Holy Prophet (saw) and Hazrat Abu Bakr arrived at a cave “in the mountain of Thaur and remained hidden there for three nights. “Hazrat Abdullah bin Abi Bakr used to go and spend the night with them. “At that time, he was an intelligent and clever young man.”
That is, he was quite mature at the time. “He would leave them when it was still dark therefore returning in the early morning, “when it was still dark and he would spend the morning with the Quraish of Mecca “as if he spent the night there. Whatever schemes he heard from them,
“that is from the disbelievers, he would understand them well and when it became dark, “he would reach the cave and relate this to them.” As he stayed in Mecca the entire day, he would relate all of the schemes of the disbelievers to The Holy Prophet (saw) at night.
“Hazrat Abu Bakr’s slave, Amir bin Fuhaira (ra), would graze the goat from his herd that had udders filled with milk near them. “Just after the time for ‘Isha [evening prayer], “he would bring this goat to them and both of them would drink its milk and spend the night.
“This was the milk of his goat that had udders filled with milk. “Amir bin Fuhaira (ra) would go to his herd in the latter part of the night “and start calling them. He did this for three nights.
“The Holy Prophet (saw) and Hazrat Abu Bakr hired an individual from the tribe of Banu Deel “in order to show them the way. He belonged to Banu ‘Abd bin ‘Adi. “He was an extremely experienced guide. “He had taken oath of allegiance with the family of ‘As bin Wa’il,
“and he followed the religion of the disbelievers of the Quraish. “The Holy Prophet (saw) and Hazrat Abu Bakr, “both trusted this individual even though he was a disbeliever and brought up by the Quraish. “Nevertheless, The Holy Prophet (saw) trusted him,
“handed his camels for the journey to him and took this promise from him “that he would arrive at the cave of Thaur in the morning after three days. “‘Amir bin Fuhaira and the guide accompanied them. “The guide took the three of them on a path along the seashore.”
This is a narration from Bukhari. Suraqa bin Malik bin Josham said: “The messengers of the disbelievers of Quraish came to us, “who started to fix the blood money for anyone who would either “kill The Holy Prophet (saw) and Hazrat Abu Bakr or capture them.
“While I was sitting in a gathering of my tribe, Banu Mudlij, “one of them [messengers] came before us. “At the time they were discussing as to how to capture “or kill The Holy Prophet (saw) and how to attack him. “Whilst these matters were being discussed in our gathering, an individual approached us
“and stood beside us, while we were seated, and started to say that, “‘Suraqa, I have seen some shadows along the coastline a few moments ago “and I believe that this is Muhammad (saw) and his companions.’” Suraqa further relates, “I realised that indeed it was them,”
“However, I told him that this is most certainly not him, “rather it is so and so who just left from us now.” By doing this he dismissed his statement. “Following this, I remained in the gathering for a short while.” Suraqa was became greedy at the time lest that individual follow them
And become deserving of the reward. Hence, he says, “Nevertheless, I dismissed his statement, got up after a short while, “went home and told my maid to take out my horse and to keep it on the other side of the hill. “In other words, there was a small hill behind [the house]
“and I said to her to take my horse there and to keep it there, ready for me. “Thereafter, I took my spear and left my house from the rear. “I placed the front end of my spear into the ground, bent the upper end down, “in order to mount my horse.”
That is, he used the support of the spear in order to mount the horse. He is narrating this incident himself. He further states, “I then gave my horse a light pat to make it run and it galloped, “with me on top, until we reached near them,” That is, The Holy Prophet (saw).
“and suddenly the horse stumbled in such a manner that I fell off it. “I stood up, lowered my hand into my quiver, took out an arrow and took an omen from it “in order to determine whether I would be able to harm them or not;
“that is, whether I will be able to fulfil my intention of killing them or capturing them.” He further relates, “I received an omen I did not desire.” That is, the omen was not in my favour and indicated that I would not be able to capture them.
He then says, “I mounted my horse again and acted contrary to the omen that I received. “The horse once again began galloping ahead with me on top of it until I reached so close “that I could hear The Holy Prophet (saw) recite the Qur’an.
“The Holy Prophet (saw) did not turn to look around, “but Hazrat Abu Bakr would continuously turn around. “The front legs of my horse were dug into the ground up to the knees. “When I reached closer a short while later,
“it so happened that the legs of my horse dug into the sand and I fell down. “I then scolded the horse and got up. However, it was unable to pull its legs out of the ground. “At last, when it stood up straight after exerting a lot of effort,
“the sand from both of its legs flew up in the air like smoke.” That is, it was stuck in to the ground to such an extent that when it forcefully tried to get out, the sand that came out was so much that it appeared as if a cloud of dust had spread across.
He says, “At this point, I took another omen from my arrows “and I once again received an omen that I did not desire. “That is, it was contrary to the one I desired; “meaning I will not be able to capture The Holy Prophet (saw).
“At that moment, I called them that you are safe. “I shouted and said to The Holy Prophet (saw) that you are now safe. Upon this they stopped.” Meaning, he no longer intend [to kill them] or have any bad intentions.
He further says, “I then mounted my horse and rode to them. When my intentions changed, “the horse started to ride along without any problems and reached The Holy Prophet (saw).” Perhaps they also came towards him or stopped. He says, “Seeing the hurdles and hindrances that I faced in trying to reach them,
“a feeling emerged in my heart that The Holy Prophet (saw) would certainly prevail. “I said to The Holy Prophet (saw) that your nation has fixed blood money for you “and I informed him of everything that people intended to do to him.”
That is, he informed him of the details of all of the evil intentions of the disbelievers. He then says, “I presented my provisions to them “and said since you are setting out on a journey therefore here is some food for the journey.
“However, The Holy Prophet (saw) did not accept saying that they did not require it “and nor did he ask for anything else apart from saying, ‘Do not tell anyone about our journey’” Meaning that do not tell anyone about the route we are on.
He then further states, “I requested The Holy Prophet (saw) to write something for me “which may serve as a treaty to live in peace. “The Holy Prophet (saw) said to Aamir bin Fuhairah (ra),” Who was a slave from Ethiopia but was now freed, and he was also traveling with The Holy Prophet (saw).
“The Holy Prophet (saw) instructed him to draft this document. “So he wrote it down on a piece of leather after which The Holy Prophet (saw) carried on.” Ibn-e-Shihab narrates, “Urwah bin Zubair informed me “that The Holy Prophet (saw) met with Hazrat Zubair
“who was returning from Syria with a Muslim caravan on a business related travel. “Hazrat Zubair gave The Holy Prophet (saw) and Hazrat Abu Bakr some white garments. “The Muslims of Medina by then had heard the news of The Holy Prophet’s (saw) departure from Mecca.
“They would visit the ground of Harrah every morning and wait for “until the heat of the afternoon would cause them to return.” Meaning that they would wait until midday and when it would be become intensely hot, they would return due to the heat.
And they would do this every day in the expectation of The Holy Prophet’s (saw) arrival. He states, “One day after waiting for a long time when they had returned to their homes, “a Jewish person climbed the top of his house to check something
“and saw The Holy Prophet (saw) along with his companions dressed in white clothes “and the mirage was disappearing from amongst them.” Meaning that it he could barely trace what it was from far off but then gradually their faces became more evident. “The Jewish person could not help but proclaim: ‘O Arab people!
‘Your leader who you were waiting for is here.’” This is because he was aware that the Muslims would visit a particular location every day to wait for someone. “When the Muslims heard this announcement, they ran towards their weapons immediately “and gathered in the ground of Harrah to welcome The Holy Prophet (saw).
“When The Holy Prophet (saw) arrived with all of them with him, he then rode towards the right “and then arrived with them in the neighborhood of Banu Amr bin ‘Auf. “This happened on a Monday during the month of Rabeeul ‘Awal. “Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) stood up to meet with the people
“and The Holy Prophet (saw) remained quietly seated. “Those amongst the Ansar who had not yet seen The Holy Prophet (saw), “began offering the greetings of peace to Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) “until the sun began to shine upon The Holy Prophet (saw).” Since a lot of time had passed and the little shade
That was present at first was no longer there due to the suns heightened position. “Therefore, Hazrat Abu Bakr provided The Holy Prophet (saw) a shade with his mantle “and it was only then that the people saw The Holy Prophet (saw).
“The Prophet of Allah (saw) stayed in the neighborhood of Banu Amr bin ‘Auf “for a little more than ten nights and the mosque, the foundation of which “was based upon righteousness, was constructed and The Holy Prophet (saw) offered his prayers in it.
“Afterwards, he mounted on his camel and people began walking with him. “His camel entered Medina and settled at the location where Masjid-e-Nabwi, is situated today.” “At the time, a few Muslims would offer their prayers at this location “and it was a place where Sohail and Sahal would dry their dates.”
It was an open field where these two orphan boys would dry the dates from their land. Hazrat Sa’ad bin Zaraarah was responsible for their upbringing. “When the camel of the Holy Prophet (saw) sat down there, he said, ‘If Allah wills, this will be my place of residence.’
“Then The Holy Prophet (saw) called for those two boys “and enquired about the price for the piece of land for the construction of the Mosque. “They responded, ‘O Messenger of Allah! We give you this land for free.’ “The Holy Prophet (saw) refused to obtain this piece land from them for free
“and purchased it instead. Then the mosque was constructed. “The Messenger of Allah (saw) also carried the bricks with the people during its construction. “During this time he said, (Arabic).” Meaning, “This load is not like the burden of Khayber. “In fact, O Our Lord! This weight is very wonderful and pure.”
He would also state, “(Arabic).” That is, ‘O Allah! The true reward is that of the hereafter. ‘For this reason, please have mercy on the Ansar and the Muhajireen.’ This narration is also from Bukhari. Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) has explained about the Migration [of The Holy Prophet (saw)] .
He has written the account in his own style, therefore I shall read out some of the details. He writes, “At last not a single Muslim remained in Mecca save a few slave converts, “The Prophet (saw) himself, Abu Bakr (ra) and ‘Ali (ra). “The Meccans realised that their prey was about to escape.
“The chiefs assembled again and decided they should now kill The Prophet (saw). “By a special divine design, it seems, “the date they appointed for killing The Prophet (saw) was appointed for his escape. “When the Meccan party was collecting in front of The Prophet’s (saw) house with intent to kill,
“The Prophet (saw) was moving out in the secrecy of the night. “The Meccans must have feared anticipation of their foul design by The Prophet (saw). “They proceeded cautiously and when The Prophet (saw) himself passed by, “they took him for someone else, and withdrew to avoid being noticed.”
Instead of attacking The Holy Prophet (saw) they began hiding from him out fear that this stranger may go and inform The Holy Prophet (saw) of their plans. Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) further states, “The Prophet’s (saw) closest friend Abu Bakr (ra) “had been informed of The Prophet’s (saw) plan the day before.
“He duly joined and then both left Mecca, and took shelter in a cave called Thaur, “about three or four miles from Mecca over a hill. “When the Meccans learnt of The Prophet’s (saw) escape, “they collected and sent a force in pursuit. Led by a tracker, they reached Thaur.
“Standing at the mouth of the cave in which The Prophet (saw) and Abu Bakr (ra) sat hiding, “the tracker said that Muhammad (saw) was either in the cave or had ascended to heaven. “Abu Bakr (ra) heard this and his heart sank. ‘The enemy has nearly got us,’ he whispered.
“(Arabic) – ‘Abu Bakr, Fear not, God is with us,’ replied The Prophet (saw). “Abu Bakr (ra) went on, ‘O Messenger of Allah (saw), ‘I fear not for myself, but for you. For, if I die, I am but an ordinary mortal; ‘but if you die, it will mean death to faith and spirit.’
“‘Even so, fear not,’ assured the Prophet (saw), ‘We are not two in this cave. ‘There is a third – God!’ “Meccan tyranny was destined to end. Islam was to have the chance to grow. “The pursuers were deceived. They ridiculed the tracker’s judgement.
“It was too open a cave, they said, for anybody to take shelter in, “for with snakes and vipers it was none too safe. “If they had but bent a little, they could have sighted the two. “But they did not, and dismissing the tracker, they returned to Mecca.
“For two days The Prophet (saw) and Abu Bakr (ra) waited in the cave. “On the third night, according to the plan, two fleet camels were brought to the cave, “one for The Prophet (saw) and the guide; “the other for Abu Bakr (ra) and his servant, ‘Amir bin Fuhaira (ra).
“Before setting out, The Prophet (saw) looked back at Mecca. “Emotions welled up in his heart. Mecca was his birthplace. “He had lived there as child and man and had received there the Divine Call. “It was the place where his forefathers had lived and flourished since the time of Ishmael.
“With these thoughts, he had a last long look at it and then said, ‘Mecca, thou art dearer to me than any other place in the world, ‘but thy people would not let me live here.’ “Upon this Abu Bakr (ra) said, ‘The place hath turned out its Prophet (saw). ‘It only awaited its destruction.’
“The Meccans, after the failure of their pursuit, put a prize on their heads “and said that whoever captured and restored to the Meccans The Prophet (saw) “or Abu Bakr (ra) dead or alive was to have a reward of a hundred camels. “The announcement was made among the tribes around Mecca.
“Tempted by the reward, Suraqa bin Malik (ra), a Bedouin chief, started in pursuit of the party “and ultimately sighted them on the road to Medina. “He saw two mounted camels and, feeling sure they were bearing The Prophet (saw) and Abu Bakr (ra), “spurred on his horse.
“The horse reared and fell before it had gone very far and Suraqa (ra) fell with it.” Suraqa’s (ra) later accepted Islam. He gives his own account of the incident. Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) has written the whole incident previously mentioned, as narrated by Suraqa (ra).
Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) then further writes, “The Prophet (saw) asked ‘Amir bin Fuhaira (ra) “to write suraqa a guarantee, and he did. As Suraqa got ready to return with it, “The Prophet (saw) received a revelation about the future of events concerning Suraqa
“and said, ‘Suraqa (ra), how wilt thou feel with the gold bangles of the Chosroes on thy wrists?’ “Amazed at the prophecy he asked, ‘Which Chosroes? Chosroes bin Hormizd, the Emperor of Iran?’ “The Prophet (saw) said, ‘Yes’ Sixteen or seventeen years later the prophecy
“was literally fulfilled. Suraqa (ra) accepted Islam and went to Medina. “The Prophet (saw) died, and after him, first Abu Bakr (ra), “and then ‘Umar (ra) became the Khalifahs of Islam. “The growing influence of Islam made the Iranians jealous and led them to attack the Muslims but,
“instead of subjugating the Muslims, they were themselves subjugated by them. “The capital of Iran fell to the Muslims who captured its treasures, “including the gold bangles which the Chosroes wore at State functions. “After his conversion, Suraqa (ra) used to describe his pursuit of The Prophet (saw)
“and his party and to tell of what passed between him “and The Prophet (saw) at the time of the Migration, “and thus the Muslims were aware of the prophecy of The Holy Prophet (saw) that, ‘Suraqa, how will you feel when the bangles of the Chosroes will be on your wrists.’
“When the spoils of the war with Iran were placed before ‘Umar (ra), “he saw the gold bangles and remembered what The Prophet (saw) had told Suraqa (ra).” Umar saw it all before his own eyes. “It was a grand prophecy made at a time of utter helplessness when The Messenger (saw) of Allah
“was made to leave his hometown and go to Medina.” “Furthermore, Suraqa (ra) and others were in pursuit of him to bring him back to the Meccans, “dead or alive, with a reward of 100 camels. “It was in that time that The Holy Prophet (saw) asked Suraqa (ra),
‘How wilt thou feel with the gold bangles of the Chosroes on thy wrists?’ “What a grand prophecy and clear knowledge of the unseen this was! “When Umar (ra) saw the gold bangles, he was shown a glimpse of God Almighty’s power.
“He, therefore, sent for Suraqa (ra) and ordered him to put on the gold bangles. “Suraqa (ra) protested that the wearing of gold by men had been forbidden by Islam. “‘Umar (ra) said that this was true in that men have been forbidden to wear gold, “but that the occasion was an exception,
“and so it was not forbidden to do so in this particular occasion. “The Prophet (saw) had foreseen Chosroes’ gold bangles on his wrists; “therefore he had to wear them now, even on pain of punishment.” Because this has fulfilled a prophecy, therefore the rest of the prophecy should also be fulfilled.
“Suraqa (ra) was objecting out of deference to the Prophet’s (saw) teaching; otherwise he was as “eager as anyone else to provide visible proof of the fulfilment of the great prophecy. “He put on the bangles and Muslims saw the grand prophecy fulfilled before their very eyes.”
It has been recorded in some books that The Holy Prophet (saw) did not speak of Suraqah bin Malik being given the bangles of Chosrooes at the time of the migration, rather it was at a place called Ji’rana, right after The Holy Prophet (saw) was returning from Hunain and Ta’if.
Nevertheless, the more common narration is the one mentioned previously, that is, at the time of the migration, which has also been mentioned by Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra). “When Hazrat Aamir bin Fuhairah (ra) migrated to Medina, he fell ill upon arrival.
“The Holy Prophet (saw) prayed for him and as a result he regained full health. “Hazrat A’isha (ra) relates that, ‘When the Holy Prophet (saw) arrived in Medina, ‘having migrated [from Mecca], some of his Companions fell ill, ‘namely Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra), Hazrat Aamir bin Fuhariah (ra) and Hazrat Bilal (ra).
‘The Holy Prophet (saw) granted Hazrat A’isha (ra) permission to visit them ‘and enquire of their health.’ “Hazrat A’isha (ra) asked Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) about his health, “and in reply he recited the following couplet, (Arabic) “That is to say, ‘Whenever a man wakes up in the morning in his own home
‘it is indeed a good morning, even if death is closer to him than the laces of a shoe.’” In other words, he is in such a state that when he awakes that he is cognisant of the fact one day he is eventually going to die.
“Hazrat A’isha (ra) then enquired of the health of Aamir bin Fuhairah (ra) “and he answered by reciting the following couplet, (Arabic). “That is to say, ‘I have tasted death even before it befalls me. ‘Surely the death of a coward comes unexpectedly.’” Which means that a courageous man is ever-ready to die,
Whereas a coward is unprepared for his death. “Hazrat A’isha (ra) then enquired of Hazrat Bilal’s (ra) health. “He replied in the following couplet, (Arabic). In other words, ‘How I wish to know if I am ‘to spend a night in valley of Mecca surrounded by the grasses of Izkhar and Jaleel.’
“Thereafter, Hazrat A’isha (ra) returned to The Holy Prophet (saw) “and related to him the replies of the [three] Companions.” That is, what Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra), Hazrat Aamir bin Fuhairah (ra) and Hazrat Bilal (ra) said. “After hearing this the Holy Prophet (saw) looked to the sky and supplicated, “(Arabic).
“O Allah, make Medina as beloved to us as you made Mecca beloved, or more than that. “O Allah, make it conducive to health, “and bless us in its sa’ and mudd’,” Which are units of weight and measurement. “and transfer its fever to Maya’aa.” That is, to take it awaz from us.
Hazrat Aamir bin Fuhairah (ra) was martyred during the incident of Bi’r Ma’unah. When these Companions were killed at Bi’r Ma’unah and Hazrat Amr bin Umayyah Zamri was held captive, Aamir bin Tufail pointed to a deceased and asked him who this man was. Amr bin Umayyah answered that it was Aamir bin Fuhairah (ra).
Aamir bin Tufail then said, “I saw Aamir bin Fuhairah (ra) being raised to the heavens “after being killed, up to the point that the sky was between him and the earth, “and I can see it even now. Thereafter he descended to the earth.”
The Holy Prophet (saw) was given news of this and informed his Companions of his martyrdom. He stated, “Your Companion has been martyred and he prayed to his Lord, ‘O Our Lord, inform our brothers of what has happened to us, ‘and that we are pleased with You and You are pleased with us.’
“Thus, God Almighty informed them “and this God Almighty showed this scene to the non-Muslims as well.” This is also a tradition of Bukhari. There are differing views as to how The Holy Prophet (saw) received news of who killed Hazrat Aamir bin Fuhairah (ra) .
According to some narrations Aamir bin Tufail, who narrated this, was the one who martyred him. After all, it was Aamir bin Tufail who enquired as to who the deceased was. Hence, he was the one from among the enemies who killed him. On the other hand, according to another source,
Abdul Jabbaar bin Salmi was the one who killed him. In any case, Hazrat Aamir bin Fuhairah (ra) was killed in the incident of Bi’r Ma’unah. Whilst describing the incident in which Hazrat Aamir bin Fuhairah (ra) was martyred, Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) writes,
“Thus, Islam did not flourish by the sword, rather it did so through the high moral teachings “which penetrated the hearts and caused a tremendous change in the morals of the people. “One Companion said that the reason he accepted Islam was that he was a guest among those people
“who treacherously martyred the 70 Qaris,” “When they launched an attack on the Muslims, “some of them had climbed a hilltop whilst others stood ready to combat. “As the enemies far outnumbered the Muslims, who were unarmed and defenceless, “they overpowered the Muslims, killing them one by one.
“In the end, only one Companion remained, who had accompanied The Holy Prophet (saw) “in the migration and was the freed-slave of Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra), “whose name was Aamir bin Fuhairah (ra). “It took many of the enemies to bring him down and one of them thrust a spear through his chest.
“As the spear penetrated, he spontaneously uttered the words “(Arabic), ‘I swear by the Lord of the Ka’bah, I have prospered.’ “When he,” Aamir bin Tufail, one of the assailants who later accepted Islam. “heard these words he was left astonished.
“He thought to himself, this man is far from his wife, his children and is in such an ordeal “where a spear has been thrust through his chest, yet as he was dying the only thing he uttered was ‘I swear by the Lord of the Ka’bah, I have prospered.’
“Is this person not a madman? “Hence, Aamir bin Tufail asked the others why he has spoken such words. “They replied to him, ‘Little do you know that these Muslims are indeed mad. ‘When they die in the way of Allah Almighty they believe God is pleased with them ‘and they have obtained their goal.’
“Aamir bin Tufail says that, ‘This had such a great impact on him ‘that he decided to go and see the Muslim headquarters to study their religion for himself.’ “Therefore, when he reached Medina, he accepted Islam.” This Companion stated that, “A man was killed with a spear in this incident,
“he was far away from his hometown and relatives, “yet the words with flowed from his tongue were, (Arabic).” This had a profound effect on him, that even after the attack and accepting Islam, whenever he would relate the incident,
All of a sudden his body would tremble and eyes would flow with tears when he would reach the part where the words (Arabic), “I swear by the Lord of the Ka’bah, I have prospered” were uttered. Hence, Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) writes that, “Islam spread due to its beauties, not by force.”
It is also reported that at the time of Hazrat Amir bin Fuhaira’s martyrdom, he uttered the words: (Arabic) and another narration has the words: (Arabic) is also reported. Both narrations are found. Moreover, Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) has mentioned that these words were also uttered by many other Companions as well.
Whilst mentioning this, Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) states, “From reading history, we find that the Companions would go into the battles with the belief that “attaining martyrdom was indeed a source of comfort and joy for them. “If they ever experienced any kind of sorrow during the battles,
“they would consider it as source of solace for them. “Thus, we find numerous incident in history “wherein they considered being slain in the way of God as a source of comfort. “For instance, the Hufaz that were sent by The Holy Prophet (saw) to one of the Arab tribes “for the purpose of Tabligh.
“The leader of this delegation, Haram bin Milhan went to Amir bin Tufail, who was the chief of the tribe, “to convey the message of Islam while the rest of the Companions remained behind. “Initially, Amir bin Tufail and his accomplices warmly greeted him out of hypocrisy.
“And so, when he sat down having felt assured from them and began preaching, “some evil individual signalled to another and immediately upon receiving this indication, “he attacked Haram bin Milhan from behind with a spear and he fell. “Whilst falling, spontaneously uttered the following words: (Arabic) meaning, ‘God is great.
‘The Lord of the Ka‘bah is my witness, I have attained my goal.’ “Thereafter, these mischievous people then surrounded the rest of the Companions “and launched an attack on them. “In regards to this incident it is mentioned that the person who martyred Aamir bin Fuhairah (ra),
“who was the freed slave of Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) “and was also alongside the Holy Prophet (saw) during the Migration, later became a Muslim. “His reason for becoming Muslim was that he said when he martyred Aamir bin Fuhairah (ra),
“he immediately uttered the words: (Arabic), that is ‘By God, I have attained my goal.’” These incident therefore illustrate the fact that death was a source of joy for the Companions instead of any kind of sorrow. Thus, these Companions were so fortunate,
Particularly Aamir bin Fuhairah (ra) who also had the opportunity to serve Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra). He also had the opportunity to serve The Holy Prophet (saw) and accompanied him during his migration. He would also provide food to The Holy Prophet (saw) while he was in the cave of Thaur.
In those days, the food was the milk from the goat, and it was Aamir bin Fuhairah (ra) who was assigned with this task. For three days, without fail, he would take the goats there and would provide them its milk.
He also had the honour of writing a letter for a pact of peace with Suraqa on the instruction of The Holy Prophet (saw). Then, as a result of the prayer he made, The Holy Prophet (saw) also received the news of martyrdom even though he was for far away.
He was an embodiment of loyalty who demonstrated his loyalty at every occasion; may God Almighty continue to go on elevating his status. All praise is due to Allah. We laud Him, we beseech help from Him and ask His protection; we confide in Him, we trust Him alone
And we seek protection against the evils and mischief of our souls and from the bad results of our deeds. Whomsoever He guides on the right path, none can misguide him; and whosoever He declares misled, none can guide him onto the right path.
And we bear witness that none deserves to be worshipped except Allah. We bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. O servants of Allah! May Allah be merciful to you. Verily, Allah commands you to act with justice, to confer benefits upon each other
And to do good to others as one does to one ‘s kindred and forbids evil which pertain to your own selves and evils which affect others and prohibits revolts against a lawful authority. He warns you against being unmindful. You remember Allah; He too will remember you;
Call Him and He will make a response to your call. And verily divine remembrance is the highest virtue.