Abdullah ibn Jahsh

Abdullah ibn Jahsh was a cousin of the Prophet and his sister, Zaynab
bint Jahsh, was a wife of the Prophet. He was the first to head a
group of Muslims on an expedition and so was the first to be called
"Amir al-Mumineen"-- Commander of the Believers.
Abdullah ibn Jahsh became a Muslim before the Prophet entered the
House of al-Arqam which became a meeting place, a school and a place
of refuge for the early Muslims. He was thus one of the first to
accept Islam.
When the Prophet gave permission for his Companions to emigrate to
Madinah to avoid further persecution from the Quraysh, Abdullah ibn
Jahsh was the second to leave, preceded only by Abu Salamah.
Emigratingwas not a new experience for Abdullah. He and some membersof
his immediate family had migrated before to Abyssinia. This time,
however, his migration was on a far bigger scale. His family and
relatives--men, women and children, migrated with him. In fact, his
whole clan had become Muslims and accompanied him.
There was an air of desolation asthey left Makkah. Their homes
appeared sad and depressed as if no one had lived there before. No
sound of conversation emanated from behind those silent walls.
Abdullah's clan were not long gone when the alerted Quraysh leaders
came out and made the rounds of the districts in Makkahto find out
which Muslims had left and who had remained. Among these leaders were
Abu Jahl and Utbah ibn Rabiah. Utah looked at the houses of the Banu
Jahsh through which the dusty winds were blowing. He banged on the
doors and shouted:
"The houses of the Banu Jahsh have become empty and are weeping for
its occupants.""Who were these people anyway," said Abu Jahl
derisively,"that houses should weep for them." He then laid claim to
the house of Abdullah ibn Jahsh. It was the most beautiful and
expensive of the houses. He began to dispose freely of its contents as
a king would share out his possessions .
Later, when Abdullah ibn Jahsh heard what Abu Jahl had done to his
house, he mentioned it to the Prophet, peace be upon him,who said:
"Aren't you satisfied, O Abdullah,with what God has given you instead,
a house in Paradise?"
"Yes, messenger of God," he replied, and became at peace with himself
and completely satisfied.
Abdullah ibn Jahsh had scarcely settled down in Madinah when he had to
undergo one of the most testing experiences. He had just begun to
taste something of the good and restful life under the sponsorship of
the Ansar--after going through persecution at the hands of the
Quraysh--when he had to be exposed to the severest test he had ever
known in his life and carry out the mostdifficult assignment since he
became a Muslim.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of God be on him, commissioned eight
of his Companions to carry out the first military assignment in Islam.
Among them were Abdullah ibn Jahsh and Sad ibn Abi Waqqas.
"I appoint as your Commander the one who can best bear hunger and
thirst," said the Prophet and gave the standard to Abdullah ibn Jahsh.
He was thus the first to be made amir over a contingent of believers.
The Prophet gave him precise instructions on the route he should take
on the expedition and gave him a letter. He commanded Abdullah to read
the letter only after two days' travel.
After the expedition had been on its way for two days, Abdullah looked
at the contents of the letter. It said, "When you have read this
letter, press on until you come to a place called Nakhlah between Taif
and Makkah. From there observe the Quraysh and gather whatever
information you can on them forus."
"At your command, O Prophet ofGod," exclaimed Abdullah as he finished
reading the letter. Then he spoke to his colleagues:
"The Prophet has commanded me to proceed to Nakhlah to observe the
Quraysh and gather information on them for him. Hehas also commanded
me not to go further with anyone of you who is against the purpose of
this expedition. So whoever desires martyrdom and is in total
agreement with this expedition can accompany me. Whoever is not in
agreement, may turn back without blame. "
"At your command, O messengerof Allah," they all responded."We shall
go with you, Abdullah,wherever the Prophet of God hascommanded."
The group continued until they reached Nakhlah and began to move along
the mountain passes seeking information on Quraysh movements. While
they were thus engaged, they saw in the distance a Quraysh caravan.
There were four men in the caravan--Amr ibn al-Hadrami, Hukm ibn
Kaysan, Uthman ibn Abdullah and his brother Mughirah. They were
carrying merchandise for the Quraysh--skins, raisins and other usual
Quraysh stock in trade.
The Sahabah conferred together.It was the last day of the sacred
months. "If we were to kill them," they agreed, "we would have killed
them in the inviolablemonths. To do so would be to violate the
sacredness of this month and expose ourselves to the wrath of all
Arabs. If we leave them alone for a day so that the month will be
completed, they would have entered the inviolable precincts of Makkah
and thus be secure from us."
They continued consulting until finally they agreed to pounce on the
caravan and take whatever merchandise they could as booty. Before
long, two of the men were captured and one waskilled; the fourth
escaped.
Abdullah ibn Jahsh and his men took the two prisoners and the caravan
on to Madinah. They went to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and
informed him about what they had done. The Prophet was greatly upset
and strongly condemned their action.
"By God, I did not command you to fight. I only commanded you to
gather information on the Quraysh and observe their movements." He
granted a reprieve to the two prisoners and he left the caravan and
did not take a single item from it.
Abdullah ibn Jahsh and his men then knew that they had fallen into
disgrace and felt certain that they were ruined because of their
disobeying the command of the Prophet. They began to feel the pressure
as their Muslim brothers censured them and avoided them whenever they
passed one another. And they would say,"These went against the command
of the Prophet."
Their discomfiture grew when they learnt that the Quraysh had taken
the incident as a means todiscredit the Prophet and denounce him among
the tribes.The Quraysh were saying:"Muhammad has defiled the sacred
month. He has shed blood in it, plundered wealth and captured men."
Imagine the extent of the sadness felt by Abdullah ibn Jahsh and his
men at what had happened, more so because of the acute embarrassment
they had caused the Prophet.
They were sorely tormented andthe agony weighed heavily on them. Then
came the good newsthat Allah--Glorified be He--was pleased with what
they had done and had sent down revelation to His Prophet about this
matter. Imagine their happiness! People came and embraced them,
congratulating them on the good news and reciting to them what had
been revealed in the glorious Quran about their action.
"They ask you about fighting in the sacred month. Say: Fighting
therein is an enormity as well as preventing (people) from the path of
God and disbelief in Him.Expelling people from the Masjidal Haram is a
greater sin in the eyes of God. Moreover, persecution is greater than
killing." (Surah al-Baqarah 2: 212).
When these blessed verses were revealed, the Prophet's mind was eased.
He took the caravan and ransomed the prisoners. He became pleased with
Abdullah ibn Jahsh and his men. Their expedition was certainly a
majorevent in the early life of the Muslim community . . .
The Battle of Badr followed. Abdullah ibn Jahsh fought in it and was
put to a great test, but a test to which his faith was equal.
Then came the Battle of Uhud. There is an unforgettable story
involving Abdullah ibn Jahsh andhis friend Sad ibn Abi Waqqas
concerning an incident that tookplace during the Battle of Uhud. Let
us leave Sad to tell the story:
During the battle, Abdullah cameto me and said, "Aren't you making a
dua to God?'
"Yes," said I. So we moved aside and I prayed, "O Lord, when I meet
the enemy, let me meet a man of enormous strength and fury. Then grant
me victory over him that I might kill him and acquire spoils from
him." To thismy prayer, Abdullah said Ameen and then he prayed:
"Let me meet a man of great standing and enormous fury. I shall fight
him for Your sake, O Lord, and he shall fight me. He shall take me and
cut off my nose and ears and when I meet You on the morrow You will
say,"For what were your nose and ear cut off?" And I would reply,"For
Your sake and for the sake of Your Prophet." And then You would say,
"You have spoken thetruth . . ." Sad continues the story:
The prayer of Abdullah ibn Jahsh was better than mine. I saw himat the
end of the day. He was killed and mutilated and in fact his nose and
his ear were hung on a tree with a thread. God responded to the prayer
of Abdullah ibn Jahsh and blessed him with martyrdom as He blessed his
uncle, the Leader of Martyrs, Hamzah ibn Abdulmuttalib. The noble
Prophet buried them together ina single grave. His pure tears watered
the earth anointed withthe fragrance of martyrdom.

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