and a distinguished Arab notable known for his manly virtues and good
works.
He fed the hungry, comforted those in distress and granted asylum to
refugees. He was also keenly interested in literature and was himself
a sharp and sensitive poet capable of expressing the most delicate
emotions.
Tufayl left the hearths of his village in Tihama in the south of the
Arabian peninsula and set out for Makkah. The struggle between the
noble Prophet and the disbelieving Quraysh was already at its height.
Each wanted to gain support for his cause and recruit helpers. The
Prophet, peace and blessings of God be on him, sought help from his
Lord. His weapons werefaith and truth. The disbelieving Quraysh
resisted his message with every weapon, and attempted to keep people
away from it by all the means at their disposal.
Tufayl found himself entering this battle without any preparation or
warning. He did not come to Makkah to get involved in it. Indeed he
was notaware of the struggle that was taking place.
Let Tufayl himself take up the story from this point:
I approached Makkah. As soon asthe Quraysh leaders saw me, they came
up to me and gave me a most hearty welcome and accommodated me in a
grand house. Their leaders and notables then gathered and said:
"O Tufayl, you have come to our town. This man who claims that he is a
Prophet has ruined our authority and shattered our community. We are
afraid that he would succeed in undermining you and your authority
among your people just as he has done with us. Don't speak to the man.
On no account listen to anything he has to say. He has the speech of a
wizard, causing division between father and son, between brother and
brother and between husband and wife."
They went on telling me the most fantastic stories and scared me by
recounting tales ofhis incredible deeds. I made up my mind then not to
approach this man, or speak to him or listen to anything he had to
say.
The following morning I went tothe Sacred Mosque to make tawaf around
the Kabah as an act of worship to the idols that we made pilgrimage to
and glorified. I inserted a piece of cotton in my ears out of fear
that something of the speech of Muhammad would reach my hearing. As
soon as I entered theMosque, I saw him standing near the Kabah. He was
praying in a fashion which was different from our prayer. His whole
manner of worship was different. The scene captivated me. His worship
made me tremble and I felt drawn to him, despite myself, until I was
quite close to him.
Not withstanding the precautionI had taken, God willed that some of
what he was saying should reach my hearing and I heard a speech that
was so beautiful that I said to myself,"What are you doing, Tufayl?
You are a perceptive poet. You can distinguish between the good and
the bad in poetry. What prevents you from listening to what this man
is saying? If what comes from him is good, accept it, and if it is
bad,reject it."
I remained there until the Prophet left for his home. I followed him
as he entered his house, and I entered also and said, "O Muhammad,
your peoplehave said certain things to me about you. By God, they kept
on frightening me away from your message so that I even blocked my
ears to keep out your words.Despite this, God caused me to hear
something of it and I foundit good. So tell me more about your
mission."
The Prophet, peace be upon him,did and recited to me Surah Al-Iklaas
and Surah Al-Falaq. I swear by God, I had never heard such beautiful
words before. Neither was a more noble or justmission ever described
to me. Thereupon, I stretched out my hand to him in allegiance and
testified that there is no god butAllah and that Muhammad is
themessenger of Allah. This is how Ientered Islam.
I stayed on for some time in Makkah learning the teachings of Islam
memorizing parts of the Quran. When I decided to return to my people,
I said, "O Rasulullah. I am a man who is obeyed in his tribe. I am
going back to them and I shall invite them to Islam . . ."
When I returned to my people, my father, who was quite old then, came
up to me and I said, 'O Father, let me relate my news to you. I am no
longer from you and you are not of me.''
"Why so, my son?" he asked.
"I have accepted Islam and now follow the religion of Muhammad, peace
and blessingsof God be upon him," I replied.
"My son," he said, "your religion is my religion."
''Go and wash your sell and cleanse your clothes," I said."Then come
that I may teach you what I have learnt."
This the old man did and I explained Islam to him and he became a Muslim.
"Then came my wife and I said,"Let me relate my news to you. Iam no
longer of you and you arenot of me."
"Good heavens! Why so?" she exclaimed.
"Islam has separated us," I explained. "I have become a Muslim and
follow the religion of Muhammad."
"Your religion is my religion," she replied.
'Then go and purify yourself, notwith the water of Dhu Shara, theidol
of the Daws, but with pure water from the mountain. "
"Good gracious! Do you fear anything from Dhu Shara?"
"Damn Dhu Shari. I told you, go and wash there, far away from people.
I guarantee you that thisdumb stone won't do a thing to you."
She went and washed and I explained Islam to her and she became a
Muslim. I then invited the Daws as a whole to become Muslims. They
were all slow in responding, except Abu Hurayrah. He was the quickest
torespond to the invitation of Islam.
The next time I went to Makkah, Abu Hurayrah was with me.
"What have you left behind?' theProphet asked me.
"Hearts with veils over them obscuring the Truth, and firm disbelief.
Sin and disobedience have won over the Daws."
The Prophet thereupon stood up, made wudu and prayed withhis hands
raised to the heavens. Abu Hurayrah remarked, "When Isaw the Prophet
like this, I was afraid that he was praying against my people and that
they would be destroyed."
But the Prophet, upon whom be peace, prayed, "O Lord, guide theDaws,
guide the Daws, guide theDaws." Then he turned to me and said:
"Go back to your people, befriend them, treat them gently and invite
them to Islam."
I stayed in the land of the Daws inviting them to Islam until afterthe
hijrah of the Prophet to Madinah and after the battle of Badr, Uhud
and Khandaq had taken place. Then I went to the Prophet. With me were
eighty families who had become Muslims and who were strong intheir
faith. The Prophet was pleased with us and he gave us aportion of the
booty after the battle of Khaybar. We said to him, "O Rasulullah, make
us the right wing of your army in every battle and make our efforts
acceptable."
Tufayl stayed with the Prophet until the liberation of Makkah. After
the destruction of the idolsthere, Tufayl asked the Prophet to send
him to put an end to theworship of Dhu-l Kafayn, the chief idol of his
people. The Prophet gave him permission.
Back in Tihama among the Daws, men, women and childrenof the tribe had
gathered and were agitated that the idol was going to be burnt. They
were waiting to see if any evil would befall Tufayl should he harm
Dhu-l Kafayn. Tufayl approached the idols with the worshipers around
it. As he set fire to it, he proclaimed:
"O Dhu-l Kafayn, of your worshipers I certainly am not.
Fire have I inserted into your heart."
Whatever shirk remained in the Daws tribe went up in the flames that
burnt the idol. The whole tribe became Muslims.
Tufayl remained a lieutenant of the Prophet until the noble messenger
passed away. Tufayl then placed himself in the service of the Khalifah
Abu Bakr, the successor of the Prophet. During the Riddah wars, he led
acontingent of his people against the impostor Musaylamah.
In the battle of al-Yamamah thatfollowed, the dear companion ofthe
Prophet, Tufayl ibn Amr fought hard but eventually fell as a martyr on
the battlefield.
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And Allah Knows the Best!
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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA
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