about the middle of the sixth century CE, an Arab named Sinan ibn
Malik governed the cityof al-Uballah on behalf of the Persian emperor.
The city, whichis now part of Basrah, lay on the banks of the
Euphrates River. Sinan lived in a luxurious palace on the banks of the
river. He hadseveral children and was particularly fond of one of them
who was then barely five years old. His name was Suhayb. He was blond
and fair-complexioned. He was activeand alert and gave much pleasure
to his father.
One day Suhayb's mother took him and some members of her household to
a village called ath-Thani for a picnic. What was to be a relaxing and
enjoyable day turned out to be a terrifying experience that was to
change the course of young Suhayb's lifeforever.
That day, the village of ath-Thaniwas attacked, by a raiding party of
Byzantine soldiers. The guardsaccompanying the picnic party were
overwhelmed and killed. Ali possessions were seized and a large number
of persons were taken prisoner. Among these was Suhayb ibn Sinan.
Suhayb was taken to one of the slave markets of the Byzantine Empire,
the capital of which wasConstantinople, there to be sold.Thereafter he
passed from the hands of one slave master to another. His fate was no
different from thousands of other slaves who filled the houses, the
palaces and castles of Byzantine rulers and aristocrats.
Suhayb spent his boyhood and his youth as a slave. For about twenty
years he stayed in Byzantine lands. This gave him the opportunity to
get a rare knowledge and understanding of Byzantine/ire and society.
In the palaces of the aristocracy, hesaw with his own eyes the
injustices and the corruption of Byzantine life. He detested that
society and later would say to himself:
"A society like this can only be purified by a deluge." Suhayb of
course grew up speaking Greek, the language of the Byzantine Empire.
He practically forgot Arabic. But he never forgot that he was a son of
the desert. He longed for the day when he would be free again to join
his people's folk. At the first opportunity Suhayb escaped from
bondage and headed straight for Makkah which was aplace of refuge or
asylum. There people called him Suhayb"ar-Rumi" or "the Byzantine"
because of his peculiarly heavy speech and his blond hair. He became
the halif of one of the aristocrats of Makkah, Abdullah ibn Judan. He
engaged in trade and prospered. In fact, he became quite rich.
One day he returned to Makkah from one of his trading journeys.He was
told that Muhammad theson of Abdullah had begun calling people to
believe in God alone, commanding them to be just and to do good works
and prohibiting them from shamefuland reprehensible deeds. He
immediately enquired who Muhammad was and where he stayed. He was
told.
"(He stays) in the house or' al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam. Be careful
however that no Qurayshsees you. If they see you they would do (the
most terrible things to you). You are a stranger here and there is no
bond of asabiyyahi to protect you, neither have you any clan tohelp
you."
Suhayb went cautiously to the house of al-Arqam. At the door he found
Ammar ibn Yasir the young son of a Yemeni father who was known to him.
He hesitated for a moment then went up to Ammar and said:"What do you
want (here), Ammar?" "Rather, what do you want here'?" countered
Ammar."I want to go to this man and hear directly from him what he is
saying." "I also want to do that." "Then let us enter together, ala
barakatillah (with the blessings of God)."
Suhayb and Ammar entered and listened to what Muhammad was saying.
They were both readily convinced of the truth of his message. The
light of faith entered their hearts. At this meeting, they pledged
fealty to the Prophet, declaring that thereis no god but Allah and
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. They spent the entire day in the
company of the noble Prophet. At night, under cover ofdarkness, they
left the house of al-Arqam, their hearts aglow with the light of faith
and their faces beaming with happiness.
Then the familiar pattern of events followed. The idolatrous Quraysh
learnt about Suhayb's acceptance of Islam and began harassing and
persecuting him. Suhayb bore his share of the persecution in the same
way as Bilal, Ammar and his mother Sumayyah, Khabbab and many others
who professed Islam. Thepunishment was inhuman and severe but Suhayb
bore it all with a patient and courageous heart because he knew that
the path to Jannah is paved with thorns and difficulties. The
teachings of the noble Prophet had instilled in him and other
companions a rare strength and courage.
When the Prophet gave permission for his followers to migrate to
Madinah, Suhayb resolved to go in the company ofthe Prophet and Abu
Bakr. The Quraysh however found out about his intentions and foiled
his plans. They placed guards over him to prevent him from leaving and
taking with him the wealth, the gold and the silver, which he had
acquired through trade.
After the departure of the Prophet and Abu Bakr, Suhayb continued to
bide his time, waiting for an opportunity to join them. He remained
unsuccessful. The eyes of his guards were ever alert and watchful. The
only way out was to resort to a stratagem.
One cold night, Suhayb pretended he had some stomach problems and went
outrepeatedly as if responding to calls of nature. His captors said
one to another:
"Don't worry. Al-Laat and al-Uzzaare keeping him busy with his stomach."
They became relaxed and sleep got the better of them. Suhayb quietly
slipped out as if he was going to the toilet. He armed himself, got
ready a mount and headed in the direction of Madinah.
When his captors awoke, they realized with a start that Suhaybwas
gone. They got horses readyand set out in hot pursuit and eventually
caught up with him. Seeing them approach, Suhayb clambered up a hill.
Holding his bow and arrow at the ready, he shouted: "Men of Quraysh!
You know, by God, that I am one of the best archers and my aim is
unerring. By God, if you come near me, with each arrow I have,I shall
kill one of you. Then I shall strike with my sword." A Quraysh
spokesman responded: By God, we shall not let you escape from us with
your life and money. You came to Makkahweak and poor and you have
acquired what you have acquired.."
"What would you say if I leave you my wealth?" interrupted Suhayb.
"Would you get out of my way?" "Yes," they agreed.
Suhayb described the place in hishouse in Makkah where he had left the
money, and they allowedhim to go.
He set off as quickly as he could for Madinah cherishing the prospect
of being with the Prophet and of having the freedom to worship God in
peace. On his way to Madinah, whenever he felt tired, the thought of
meeting the Prophet sustained him and he proceededwith increased
determination. When Suhayb reached Quba, justoutside Madinah where the
Prophet himself alighted after his Hijrah, the Prophet saw him
approaching. He was over-joyed and greeted Suhayb with beaming smiles.
"Your transaction has been fruitful, O Abu Yahya. Your transaction has
been fruitful." He repeated this three times. Suhayb's face beamed
with happiness as he said: "By God, no one has come before me to you,
Messenger of God, and only JibriI could have told you about this." Yes
indeed! Suhayb's transaction was fruitful. Revelation from on high
affirmed the truth of this:
"And there is a type of man who gives his life to earn the pleasureof
God. And God is full of kindness to His servants." (The Quran, Surah
al-Baqarah, 2:2O7).
What is money and what is gold and what is the entire world so long as
faith remains! The Prophet loved Suhayb a great deal. He was commended
by the Prophet and described as preceding the Byzantines to Islam. In
addition to his piety and sobriety, Suhayb was also light-hearted at
times and had a good sense of humor. One day the Prophet saw him
eating dates. He noticed that Suhayb had an infection in one eye. The
Prophet said to him laughingly:"Do you eat ripe dates while you have
an infection in one eye?""What's wrong?" replied Suhayb,"I am eating
it with the other eye."
Suhayb was also known for his generosity. He used to give all his
stipend from the public treasury fi sabilillah, to help the poor and
those in distress. He was a good example of the Quranic verse: "He
gives food for the love of God to the needy, theorphan and the
captive." So generous was he that Umar once remarked:
"I have seen you giving out so much food that you appear to be too
extravagant." Suhayb replied: "I have heard the Messenger of God say:
'The best of you is the one who gives out food.'"
Suhayb's piety and his standing among MusIims was so high that he was
selected by Umar ibn al-Khattab to lead the Muslims in the period
between his death and the choosing of his successor.
As he lay dying after he was stabbed by a Magian, Abu Lulu, while
leading the Fajr Salat, Umar summoned six of the companions: Uthman,
Ali, Talhah, Zubayr, Abdur Rahman ibn Awl, and Sad ibn Abi Waqqas. He
did not appoint anyone of them as his successor,because if he had done
so according to one report "there would have been for a short time two
Khalifahs looking at each other". He instructed the six to consult
among themselvesand with the Muslims for three days and choose a
successor, and then he said:
"Wa-l yusalli bi-n nas Suhayb - Let Suhayb lead the people in Salat."
In the period when there was noKhalifah, Suhayb was given the
responsibility and the honor of leading the Salat and of being,
inother words, the head of the Muslim community.
Suhayb's appointment by Umar showed how well people from a wide
variety of backgrounds were integrated and honoured in the community
of Islam. Once during the time of the Prophet, a hypocrite named Qays
ibn Mutatiyah tried to pour scorn and disgrace on sections of the
community. Qays had come upon a study circle (halqah) in which were
Salman al-Farsi, Suhayb ar-Rumi and Bilal al-Habashi, may God be
pleased with them, and remarked:
"The Aws and the Khazraj have stood up m defence of this man
(Muhammad). And what are these people doing with him'?" Muadh was
furious and informed the Prophet of what Qays had said. The Prophet
was very angry. He entered the mosque and the Call to Prayer was
given, for this was the method of summoning the Muslims for an
important announcement. Then he stood up, praised and glorified God
and said:
"Your Lord is One. Your ancestor is one. Your religion is one. Take
heed. Arabism is not conferred on you through your mother or father.
It is through the tongue (i.e. the language of Arabic), so whoever
speaks Arabic, he is an Arab."
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And Allah Knows the Best!
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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA
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