Mother of the Believers, may God be pleased with her. His father was
Qays ibnSaid and his mother was Aatikahbint Abdullah. She was called
Umm Maktum (Mother of the Concealed One) because she gavebirth to a
blind child.
Abdullah witnessed the rise of Islam in Makkah. He was amongst the
first to accept Islam. He lived through the persecution of the Muslims
and suffered what the other companions of the Prophet experienced. His
attitude, like theirs, was one of firmness, staunch resistance and
sacrifice. Neither his dedication nor his faith weakened against the
violence of the Quraysh onslaught. In fact, all this only increased
his determination to hold on to the religion of God and his devotion
to His messenger.
Abdullah was devoted to the noble Prophet and he was so eager to
memorize the Quran that he would not miss any opportunity to achieve
his hearts desire. Indeed, his sense of urgency and his insistence
could sometimes have been irritating as he, unintentionally, sought to
monopolize the attention of the Prophet.
In this period, the Prophet, peace be upon him, was concentrating on
the Quraysh notables and was eager that they should become Muslims.
Onone particular day, he met Utbahibn Rabiah and his brother Shaybah,
Amr ibn Hisham better known as Abu Jahl, Umayyah ibn Khalaf and Walid
ibn Mughirah, the father of Khalid ibn Walid who was later to be known
as Sayf Allah or 'the sword of God'. He had begun talking and
negotiating with them and telling them about Islam. He so much wished
that they would respond positively to him and accept Islam or at least
call off their persecution of his companions.
While he was thus engaged, Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum came up and asked
him to read a verse from the Quran. "O messenger of God," he
said,"teach me from what God has taught you."
The Prophet frowned and turnedaway from him. He turned his attention
instead to the prestigious group of Quraysh, hoping that they would
become Muslims and that by their acceptance of Islam they would bring
greatness to the religion of God and strengthen his mission. As soon
as he had finished speaking to them and had left their company, he
suddenly felt partially blinded and his head began to throb violently.
At this point the following revelation came to him:
"He frowned and turned away when the blind man approachedhim ! Yet for
all you knew, (O Muhammad), he might perhaps have grown in purity or
have been reminded of the Truth, andhelped by this reminder. Now as
for him who believes himself to be self-sufficient, to him you gave
your whole attention, although you are not accountable for his failure
to attain to purity. But as for him who came unto you full of
eagerness and in awe of God, him did you disregard.
Nay, verily, this is but a reminderand so, whoever is willing may
remember Him in the light of Hisrevelations blest with dignity, lofty
and pure, borne by the hands of messengers, noble and most virtuous.'
(Surah Abasa 8O: 116).
These are the sixteen verses which were revealed to the noble Prophet
about Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum, sixteen versesthat have continued to be
recited from that time till today and shall continue to be recited.
From that day the Prophet did not cease to be generous to Abdullah ibn
Umm Maktum, to ask him about his affairs, to fulfill his needs and
take him into his council whenever he approached. This is not strange.
Was he not censured by God in amost severe manner on Abdullah's
account? In fact, in later years, he often greeted Ibn Umm Maktum with
these words of humility:
"Welcome unto him on whose account my Sustainer has rebuked me." When
the Quraysh intensified their persecution of the Prophet and those who
believed with him, God gave them permission to emigrate. Abdullahs
response was prompt.He and Musab ibn Umayr were the first of the
Companions to reach Madinah.
As soon as they reached Yathrib, he and Musab began discussing with
the people, reading the Quran to them and teaching them the religion
of God. When the Prophet, upon whom be peace, arrived in Madinah, he
appointed Abdullah and Bilal ibnRabah to be muadh-dhins for the
Muslims, proclaiming the Oneness of God five times a day, calling man
to the best of actions and summoning them tosuccess .
Bilal would call the adhan and Abdullah would pronounce the iqamah for
the Prayer. Sometimes they would reverse the process. During Ramadan,
they adopted a special routine. One of them would call the adhan to
wake people up to eat before the fast began. The other would call the
adhan to announce the beginning of dawn and the fast. It was Bilal who
would awaken the people and Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum who would announce
the beginning of dawn.
One of the responsibilities that the Prophet placed on Abdullah ibn
Umm Maktum was to put him in charge of Madinah in his absence. This
was done more than ten times, one of them being when he left for the
liberation of Makkah.
Soon after the battle of Badr, theProphet received a revelation from
God raising the status of the mujahideen and preferring them over the
qaideen (those who remain inactive at home). This was in order to
encourage the mujahid even further and to spur the qaid to give up his
inactivity. This revelation affected ibn Umm Maktum deeply. It pained
him to be thus barred from the higher status and he said:
O messenger of God. If I could go on jihad, I would certainly do." He
then earnestly asked Godto send down a revelation abouthis particular
case and those likehim who were prevented because of their
disabilities fromgoing on military campaigns.
His prayer was answered. An additional phrase was revealed to the
Prophet exempting those with disabilities from the importof the
original verse. The full ayah became:
"Not equal are those who remain seated among the believers, except
those who possess disabilities, and those who strive and fight in the
way of God with their wealth and their persons . . ." (Surah an-Nisaa,
4: 95).
In spite of thus being excused from jihad, the soul of Abdullah ibn
Umm Maktum refused to be content with staying among those who remained
at home when an expedition was in progress. Great souls are not
content with remaining detached from affairs of great moment. He
determined that nocampaign should by-pass him. He fixed a role for
himself on thebattle field. He would say: "Place me between two rows
and give me the standard. I will carry it for you and protect it, for
I am blind and cannot run away. "
In the fourteenth year after the hijrah, Umar resolved to mount a
major assault against the Persians to bring down their State and open
the way for the Muslim forces. So he wrote to his governors:
"Send anyone with a weapon or a horse or who can offer any form of
help to me. And make haste."
Crowds of Muslims from every direction responded to Umar's call and
converged on Madinah. Among all these was the blind mujahid Abdullah
ibn Umm Maktum. Umar appointed Saud ibn Abi Waqqas commander over the
army, gave him instructions and bade him farewell. When the army
reached Qadisiyyah, Abdullah ibnUmm Maktum was prominent, wearing a
coat of armor and fully prepared. He had vowed to carry and protect
the standard of the Muslims or be killed in theprocess.
The forces met and engaged in battle for three days. The fighting was
among the most fierce and bitter in the history ofthe Muslim
conquests. On the third day, the Muslims achieved a mighty victory as
one of the greatest empires in the world collapsed and one of the most
secure thrones fell. The standardof Tawhid was raised in an idolatrous
land. The price of this clear victory was hundreds of martyrs. Among
them was Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum. He was found dead on the battlefield
clutching the flag of the Muslims.
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