Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith - Biographies of the Companions (Sahabah)

Rarely can one find a closer bond between two persons such as existed
between Muhammad the son of Abdullah and Abu Sufyanthe son of
al-Harith. (ThisAbu Sufyan of course was not the same as Abu Sufyan
ibn Harb, the powerful Quraysh chieftain.)
Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith was born about the same time as the
blessedProphet. They resembledeach other a great deal. They grew up
together and for a time lived in the same household. AbuSufyan was a
cousin of the Prophet. His father, al-Harith, was the brother of
Abdullah; both were sons of Abd al-Muttalib.
Abu Sufyan was also a foster-brother of the Prophet. He was for a
short time nursed by the lady Halimah who looked after the young
Muhammad in the toughand bracing atmosphereof the desert.
In their childhood and youth, Abu Sufyan and Muhammad were close and
intimate friends. So close were they, that one might naturally have
expected Abu Sufyan to have been among the first to respond to the
call of theProphet, peace be upon him, and follow wholeheartedly the
religion of truth. But thiswas not to be, at least not for many, many
years.
From the time the Prophet made public his call to Islam and first
issued the warning to members of his clan about the dangers of
continuing in their existing state of unbelief, injustice and
immorality, the fire of envy and hatred eruptedin the breast of Abu
Sufyan. The bonds of kinship snapped. Where once there was love and
friendship, there was now revulsion and hate. Where once there was
brotherhood, there was now resistance and opposition.
Abu Sufyan at this time was renowned as one ofthe best fighters and
horsemen of the Qurayshand one of their most accomplished poets. He
used both sword and tongue in the battle against the Prophet and his
mission. All his energies were mobilizedin denouncing Islam
andpersecuting the Muslims.In whatever battle the Quraysh fought
against the Prophet and whatever torture and persecution they meted
out to the Muslims Abu Sufyan had a part to play. He composed and
recited verses attacking and vilifying the Prophet.
For twenty years almost this rancor consumed hissoul. His three others
brothers - Nawfal, Rabiah and Abdullah, had all accepted Islam but not
he.
In the eighth year after the Hijrah, however, shortly before the
Islamic liberation of Makkah, Abu Sufyan's position began to shift, as
he explains: "When the movement of Islam became vigorous and
well-established and news spread of the Prophet's advance to liberate
Makkah, the world caved in on me. I felt trapped. 'Where shall I go?'
I asked myself. 'And with whom?' To my wife and children, I said:
'Get ready to leave Makkah. Muhammad's advance is imminent. I shall
certainly be killed. Ishall be given no quartershould the Muslims
recognize me.'
'Now,' replied my family,'you must realize that Arabs and non-Arabs
have pledged their obedience to Muhammad and accepted his religion.
You are still bent on opposing him whereas you might have been
thefirst to support and help him.'
They continued trying toinfluence me to re-consider my attitude to
Muhammad's religion and to re-awaken in me affection towards him.
Eventually God opened my heart to Islam. I got up and said to my
servant, Madhkur: 'Get ready a camel and a horse for us.' I took my
son Jafar with me and we galloped with great speed towards al-Abwa
between Makkah and Madinah. I had learnt that Muhammad had camped
there. As I approached the place, I covered my face so that no one
could recognize and kill me before I could reach the Prophet and
announce my acceptance of Islam directly to him.
Slowly, I proceeded on foot while advance groups of Muslims headed
towards Makkah. I avoided their path out of fear that oneof the
Prophet's companions would recognize me. I continued in this
fashionuntil the Prophet on his mount came into my view. Coming out
into the open, I went straightup to him and uncovered my face. He
looked at me and recognized me. But, he turned his face away. I moved
to face him once again. He avoided looking at me and again turned away
his face. This happened repeatedly.
I had no doubt - as I stood there facing the Prophet that he would
have been pleased with my acceptance of Islam and that his
companionswould have rejoiced at his happiness. When, however, the
Muslims saw the Prophet, peace be on him, avoiding me, they too looked
at me and shunned me. Abu Bakr met me and violently turned away. I
looked at Umar ibn al-Khattab, my eyes pleading for his compassion,
but I found him even more harsh than Abu Bakr. In fact, Umar went on
to incite one of the Ansar against me.
'O enemy of God,' lashed out the Ansari, 'you are the one who
persecuted the Messenger of God, peace be on him, and tortured his
companions. You carriedyour hostility towards the Prophet to the ends
of the earth'.
The Ansari went on censuring me in a loud voice while other Muslims
glared at me in anger. At that point, I saw my uncle, al-Abbas, and
went to him seekingrefuge.
'O uncle,' I said. 'I had hoped that the Prophet, peace be on him,
would be happy about my acceptance of Islam because of my kinship
tohim and because of my position of honor among my people. You know
what his reaction has been. Speak to him then on my behalf that he may
be pleased with me.'
'No, by God,' replied my uncle. 'I shall not speak to him at all after
I have seen him turning away from you except if an opportunity
presents itself. I do honor the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be
on him, and I stand in awe of him.'
'O uncle, to whom then will you abandon me?' I pleaded.
'I do not have anything for you except what you have heard,' he said.
Anxiety and grief took hold of me. I saw Ali ibn Talib soon after and
spoke to him about my case. His response was the same as that of my
uncle. I went back to my uncle and said to him: 'O uncle, if you
cannot soften the heart of the Prophet towards me, then at least
restrain that man from denouncing me and inciting others against me.'
'Describe him to me,' said my uncle. I described the man to him and he
said: 'That is Nuayman ibn al-Harith an-Najjari.' He sent for Nuayman
and said to him: 'O Nuayman! Abu Sufyan is the cousin of the Prophet
and my nephew. If the Prophet is angry with him today, he will be
pleased with him another day. So leave him...' My uncle continued
trying to placate Nuayman until the latter relented and said: 'I shall
not spurn him anymore.'
"When the Prophet reached al-Jahfah (aboutfour days journey from
Makkah), I sat down at the door of his tent. My son Jafar stood beside
me. As he was leaving his tent, the Prophet sawme and averted his
face. Yet, I did not despair of seeking his pleasure. Whenever he
camped at a place, I would sit at his door and my son Jafar would
stand in front of me... I continued in this fashion for some time. But
the situation becametoo much for me and I became depressed. I saidto
myself:
'By God, either the Prophet, peace be on him, shows he is pleasedwith
me or I shall take my son and go wandering through the land until we
die of hunger and thirst.'
When the Prophet came to hear of this, he relented and, on leaving his
tent, he looked more gently towards me then before. I so much hoped
that he would smile."
Eventually the Prophet relented and told Abu Sufyan, "There is now
noblame on you." He entrusted the newcomerto Islam to Ali ibn Abi
Talib saying: "Teach yourcousin how to perform wudu and about the
Sunnah. Then bring him back to me." When Ali returned, the Prophet
said:
"Tell all the people that the Messenger of God is pleased with Abu
Sufyanand that they should be pleased with him."
Abu Sufyan continued:"The Prophet then entered Makkah and I too
entered in his entourage. He went to the Sacred Mosque and I also
went, trying my bestto remain in his presence and not separate from
him on any account...
Later, at the Battle of Hunayn, the Arabs put together an
unprecedented force against the Prophet, peace be on him... They were
determined to deala mortal blow to Islam and the Muslims.
The Prophet went out to confront them with a large number of his
companions. I went out with him and when I saw the great throngs
ofmushrikin, I said: 'By God, today, I shall atone for all my past
hostility towards the Prophet. peace be on him, and heshall certainly
see on my part what pleases God and what pleases him.'
When the two forces met, the pressure of the mushrikin on the Muslims
was severe and the Muslims began to lose heart. Some even began to
desert and terrible defeat stared us in the face. However, theProphet
stood firm in the thick of battle astride his mule "Ash-Shahba" like a
towering mountain, wielding his sword and fighting for himself and
those around him... I jumped from my horse and fought beside him. God
knows that I desired martyrdom beside the Messenger of God. My uncle,
al-Abbas, took the reins of the Prophet's mule and stood at his side.
I took up my position on the other side. With my right handI fended
off attacks against the Prophet and with my left I held on to my
mount.
When the Prophet saw my devastating blows onthe enemy, he asked my
uncle: 'Who's this?' 'This is your brother and cousin. Abu Sufyan ibn
al-Harith. Be pleased with him. O Messenger of God.'
'I have done so and God has granted forgiveness to him for all the
hostility he has directed against me.'
My heart soared with happiness. I kissed his feet in the stirrup and
wept. He turned towardsme and said: 'My brother! Upon my life! Advance
and strike!'
The words of the Prophet spurred me on and we plunged into
thepositions of the mushrikin until they were routed and fled in every
direction."
After Hunayn, Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith continued to enjoy the good
pleasure of the Prophet and the satisfaction of being in his noble
company. But he never looked the Prophet directly in the eye nor
focussed his gaze on his face out of shame and embarrassment for his
past hostility towards him.
Abu Sufyan continued tofeel intense remorse for the many and dark days
he had spent trying to extinguish the light of God and refusing to
follow His message. Henceforth, his days and nights he would spend
reciting the verses of theQuran seeking to understand and follow its
laws and profit by its admonitions. He shunned the world and its
adornments and turned to God with every fibre of his being. Once the
Prophet. peace be on him, saw him entering the mosque and asked his
wife: "Do you know who is this, Aishah?" "No, O Messenger of God." she
replied. This is my cousin. Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith. See, he is the
first to enter the masjid and the last to leave. His eyes do not leave
his shoelace."
When the Prophet, peace be on him, passed away, Abu Sufyan felt
intense grief and wept bitterly.
During the caliphate of Umar, may God be pleased with him, Abu Sufyan
felt his end drawing near. One day people saw him in al-Baqi, the
cemetery not far from the Prophet's mosque wheremany Sahabah are
buried. He was digging and fashioning a grave. They were surprised.
Three days later, Abu Sufyan was lying stretched out at home His
family stood around weeping but he said:"Do not weep for me. By God, I
did not commit any wrong since I accepted Islam." With that, he passed
away.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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