the Kabah itself.
Together with a group of friends, his mother had gone inside this
ancient House of God to inspect it. On that particular day it was open
because of a festive occasion. She was pregnant and labor pains
suddenly gripped her. She was unable to leave the Kabah. A leather mat
was brought to her and she gave birth on it. The child was named
Hakim. His father was Hazm who was the son of Khuwaylid. Hakim was
therefore the nephew of the Lady Khadijah, the daughter of Khuwaylid,
may Allah be pleasedwith her.
Hakim grew up in a wealthy and noble family which enjoyed a high
status in Makkan society. Hewas also an intelligent and well-mannered
person who was well respected by his people. He was held in such
esteem that he was given the responsibility of the rifadah which
involved giving assistance to the needy and those who had lost their
property during the season of pilgrimage. He took this responsibility
seriously and would even help needy pilgrims from his own resources.
Hakim was a very close friend of the Prophet, peace be on him, before
the latter's call to prophethood. Even though he was five years older
than the Prophet, he used to spend muchtime talking to him and
enjoyinghours of pleasant companionship. Muhammad in his turn felt
great affection for Hakim.
Their relationship was further strengthened when the Prophet married
his aunt, Khadijah bint Khuwaylid.
What is truly amazing is that in spite of the close friendship between
Hakim and the Prophet,Hakim did not become a Muslim until the conquest
of Makkah, more than twenty years after the start of the Prophet's
mission. One would have thought that someone like Hakim whom God had
blessed with a sound intellect and who was so well-disposed to the
Prophet, would have been among the first to believe in himand follow
the guidance he brought. But that was not to be.
Just as we are astonished at the late acceptance of Islam on the part
of Hakim, he himself later inlife was also amazed. In fact, as soon as
he accepted Islam and tasted the sweetness of iman (faith), he began
to feel deep regret for every moment of his life as a mushrik and a
denier of God's religion and of His Prophet.
His son once saw him weeping after his acceptance of Islam andasked:
"Why are you weeping, my father'?" "Many things cause me to weep, my
dear son. The most grievous is the length of time it took for me to
become a Muslim. Acceptance of Islam would have given me so many
opportunities to do good which I missed even if I were to have spent
the earth in gold. My life was spared at the battle of Badr and also
at the battle of Uhud. After Uhud. I said to myself. I would not help
any Quraysh against Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be
upon him, and I would not leaveMakkah. Then, whenever I felt like
accepting Islam I would lookat other men among the Quraysh, men of
power and maturity who remained firmly attached to the ideas and
practices of Jahiliyyah and I would fall in line with them and their
neighbors... Oh, how I wishI had not done so. Nothing has destroyed us
except the blind following of our forefathers and elders. Why should I
not weep, my son?"
The Prophet himself was puzzled. A man of sagacity and understanding
like Hakim ibn Hazm, how could Islam remain"hidden" from him?. For a
long time, the Prophet had dearly hoped that he and a group of persons
like him would take the initiative and become Muslims. On the night
before the liberation of Makkah, he, may God bless him and grant him
peace, said to his companions:
"There are four persons in Makkah whom I consider to be above having
any dealing with shirk and I would dearly like them to accept Islam."
"Who arethey, O Messenger of God?" asked the companions. "Attab ibn
Usayd, Jubayr ibn Mutim, Hakim ibn Hazm and Suhayl ibn Amr," replied
the Prophet. By the grace of God, they all became Muslims.
When the Prophet, peace be on him, entered Makkah to liberate the city
from polytheism and theways of ignorance and immorality, he ordered
his herald to proclaim: "Whoever declares that there is no god
butAllah alone, that He has no partner and that Muhammad is His
servant and His Messenger, he is safe...
Whoever sits at the Kabah and lays down his weapons, he is safe.
Whoever enters the house of Abu Sufyan, he is safe.
Whoever enters the house of Hakim ibn Hazm, he is safe..." The house
of Abu Sufyan was in the higher part of Makkah and that of Hakim was
in the lower part of the city. By proclaiming these houses as places
of sanctuary, the Prophet wisely accorded recognition to both Abu
Sufyan and Hakim, weakening any thought they might have of resisting
and making it easier for them to be more favorably disposed to him and
his mission.
Hakim embraced Islam wholeheartedly. He vowed to himself that he would
atone for whatever he had done during his Jahili days and that
whateveramounts he had spent in opposing the Prophet, he would spend
the same amounts in the cause of Islam.
He owned the Dar an-Nadwah, an important and historic building in
Makkah, where the Quraysh held their conferences during the days of
Jahiliyyah. In this building the Quraysh leadersand chieftains would
gather to plot against the Prophet.
Hakim decided to get rid of it and cut himself off from its past
associations which were now sopainful to him. He sold the building for
one hundred thousand dirhams. A Quraysh youth exclaimed to him: "You
have sold something of great historical value and pride to the
Quraysh, uncle."
"Come now, my son," replied Hakim. "All vain pride and glory has now
gone and all that remains of value is taqwa - consciousness of God. I
have only sold the building in order toacquire a house in Paradise. I
swear to you that I have given the proceeds from it to be spentin the
path of God Almighty."
Hakim ibn Hazm performed the Hajj after becoming a Muslim. Hetook with
him one hundred fine camels and sacrificed them all inorder to achieve
nearness to God. In the following Hajj, he stood on Arafat. With him
were one hundred slaves. To each he gave a pendant of silver on which
was engraved: "Free for the sake of God Almighty from Hakim ibn Hazm."
On a third Hajj,he took with him a thousand sheep - yes a thousand
sheep and sacrificed them all at Mina to feed the poor Muslims in
order to attain nearness to God.
While Hakim was generous in hisspending for the sake of God, he also
still liked to have much. After the battle of Hunayn, he asked the
Prophet for some of the booty which the Prophet gave. He then asked
for more and the Prophet gave him more. Hakim was still a newcomer to
Islam and the Prophet was moregenerous to newcomers so as toreconcile
their hearts to Islam. Hakim ended up with a large share of the booty.
But the Prophet peace be upon him, toldhim:
"O Hakim! This wealth is indeed sweet and attractive. Whoever takes it
and is satisfied will be blessed by it and whoever takes out of greed
will not be blessed. He would be like someone who eats and is not
satisfied. The upper hand is better than the lower hand (it is better
to give than to receive)."
The kind words of advice had a deep and immediate effect on Hakim. He
was mortified and said to the Prophet: "O Messenger of God! By Him who
has sent you with the truth, I shall not ask anyone after you for
anything."
During the caliphate of Abu Bakr,Hakim was called several times to
collect his stipend from the Bayt al-mal but he refused to take any
money. He did the sameduring the caliphate of Umar ibnal-Khattab
whereupon Umar addressed the Muslims: "I testifyto you, O Muslims,
that I have called Hakim to collect his stipend but he refuses."
Hakim remained faithful to his word. He did not take anything from
anyone until he passed away. From the Prophet, he had learnt the great
truth that contentment is riches beyond compare.
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And Allah Knows the Best!
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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA
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