still under threat from within and without. Fromwithin the influential
Jewish tribe, the Banu an-Nadir, broke their agreement with the
Prophet and made plans to kill him. For this, they were banished
fromthe city. This was in the month of Safar.
Two months of uneasy quiet passed. Then the Prophet received news that
tribes from distant Najd were planning an attack. To pre-empt them,
the Prophet gathered a force of over four hundred men, and leaving one
of his companions Uthman ibn Affan in charge of the city, set out
eastward. Among this force was theyoung Madinan, Abbad ibn Bishr.
Arriving at Najd, the Prophet found the habitations of the hostile
tribes strangely deserted of men. Only women were about. The men
hadtaken to the hills. Some of them regrouped and prepared to fight.
The time of Salaah al-Asr (the afternoon prayer) came. The Prophet
feared that the hostile tribesmen would attack them during prayer. He
arranged the Muslims in ranks and divided them into two groups and
performed the prayer as the Salaah al-Khawf (the Prayer of Fear). With
one group he performed one rakah while the other group stood on guard.
For the second rakah the groups changed places. Each group completed
its prayer with one rakah after the Prophet had finished...
On beholding the disciplined ranks of the Muslims the hostile
tribesmen became uneasy and afraid. The Prophet had made his presence
felt and something of his mission was now known at first hand in the
central highlands of Arabia whence he departed peacefully.
On the way back, the Prophet pitched camp in a valley for a night. As
soon as the Muslims had settled their camel mounts, the Prophet ,
asked: "Who will be our guard tonight?" "We, O Messenger of Allah,"
said Abbad ibn Bishr and Ammar ibn Yasir both of whom had been paired
off as 'brothers' by the Prophet when he arrived in Madinah after the
Hijrah.
Abbad and Ammar left forthe mouth of the valley to take up duty. Abbad
saw that his "brother" was tired and asked him:"What part of the night
do you wish to sleep, the first or the second?" "I shall sleep during
the first part," said Ammar who was soon fast asleepquite close to
Abbad.
The night was clear, calm and peaceful. The stars, the trees, and the
rocks all appeared to celebrate in silence the praises of their lord.
Abbad felt serene. There was no movement, no threatening sign. Why not
spend the time in ibadah (worship) and reciting the Quraan?
Howdelightful it would be to combine the performance of Salaah with
the measured recitation of the Quraan which he so much enjoyed.
In fact Abbad was enthralled by the Ouraan from the moment he first
heard it being recited by the mellow and beautifulvoice of Musab ibn
Umayr. That was before the Hijrah when Abbad was just about fifteen
years old. The Quraan had found a special placein his heart and day
and night thereafter he would be heard repeating the glorious words of
Allah so much so that he became known among the Prophet 's
companionsas the "friend of the Quraan".
Late at night, the Prophet once stood up to perform the Tahajjud
Prayer in Aishah's house which adjoined the masjid. He heard a voice
reciting the Quraan, pureand sweet and as fresh aswhen the angel
Jibril revealed the words to him. He asked: "Aishah, is that the voice
of Abbad ibn Bishr?' "Yes, O Messenger of Allah," replied Aishah. "O
Lord, forgive him," prayed the Prophet out of love for him.
And so in the stillness of the night, at the mouth of the valley in
Najd, Abbad stood up and faced the Qiblah. Raising his hand in
surrender to Allah, he entered into thestate of Prayer. Finishing the
compulsory opening chapter of the Quraan, hebegan reciting Surah
al-Kahf in his sweet, captivating voice. Surah al-Kahf is a long Surah
of one hundred and ten verses which deals in part with the virtues of
faith, truth and patience and with the relativity of time.
While he was thus absorbed in reciting and reflecting upon the divine
words, eternal words of illumination and wisdom. ing and reflecting
upon the divine words, eternal words of illumination and wisdom, a
stranger stalked the outskirts of the valley in search of Muhammad and
his followers. He was one of those who had planned to attack the
Prophet but who had fled into the mountains on the approach of the
MusIims. His wife whom he had left in the village had been taken as a
captive by one of the Muslims. When he eventually found that his wife
was gone, he swore by al-Lat and al-Uzzah that he would pursue
Muhammad and his companions and that he would not return unless he had
drawn blood.
From a distance, the man saw the figure of Abbad silhouetted at the
mouth of the valley and he knew that the Prophet and his followers
mustbe inside the valley. Silently he drew his bow and let fly an
arrow. Unerringly it embedded itself in Abbad's flesh.
Calmly, Abbad pulled out the arrow from his body and went on with his
recitation, still absorbed in his Salaah. The attacker shot a second
and a third arrow both ofwhich also found their mark. Abbad pulled out
one and then the other. He finished his recitation,made ruku and then
sujud. Weak and in pain, he stretched out his righthand while still in
prostration and shook hissleeping companion. Ammar awoke. Silently,
Abbad continued the Salaah to its end and then said: "Get up and stand
guard in my place. Ihave been wounded."
Ammar jumped up and began to yell. Seeing them both the attacker fled
into the darkness. Ammar turned to Abbad as he lay on the ground,
blood flowing from his wounds.
"Ya Subhanallah (Glory be to Allah)! Why didn't you wake me when you
were hit by the first arrow?" "I was in the midst of reciting verses
of the Quraan which filled my soul with awe and I did not want to cut
short the recitation. The Prophet had commanded me to commit this
surah to memory. Death would have been dearer to me than that the
recitation of this surah should be interrupted."
Abbad's devotion to the Quraan was a sign of his intense devotion to
and love for Allah, His Prophet and His religion. The qualities he was
known for were his constant immersion in ibadah, his heroic courage
and his generosity in the path of Allah. At times of sacrificeand
death, he would always be in the front line. When it was time
forreceiving his share of rewards, he would only be found after much
effort and difficulty. He was always trustworthy in his dealings with
the wealth of Muslims. All thiswas recognized. Aishah, the wife of the
Prophet , once said: "There arethree persons among the Ansar whom no
one could excel in virtue: Sad ibn Muadh, Usayd ibn Khudayr and Abbad
ibn Bishr."
Abbad died the death of a shahid (martyr) at the battle of Yamamah.
Just before the battle he had a strong presentiment of death and
martyrdom. Henoticed that there was a lack of mutual confidence among
the Muhajirin and Ansar. He was grieved and upset. He realized that
there would be no success for the Muslims in these terrible battles
unless theMuhajirin and Ansar were grouped in separate regiments so
that it could be clearly seen who really bore their responsibility and
who were truly steadfast in combat.
At the break of day whenthe battle commenced, Abbad ibn Bishr stood on
a mound and shouted:
"O Ansar, distinguish yourselves among men. Destroy your scabbards.
And do not forsake Islam."
Abbad harangued the Ansar until about four hundred men gathered
around, him at the head of whom were Thabit ibnQays, al-Baraa ibn
Malik and Abu Dujanah, the keeper of the Prophet 's sword. With this
force, Abbad unleashed an offensive into the enemy's ranks which
blunted their thrust and drove them back to the"garden of death".
At the walls of this garden, Abbad ibn Bishr fell. So numerous were
his wounds, he was hardly recognizable. He had lived, I fought and
died as a believer.
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