The Ansaar and Us

Their sacrifices were immense and their faith stunning.
T he name of Ansaar never fails to evoke undertones of sacrifice,
submission, and love of Allaah The Most High and His Messenger and
warm sentiments of appreciation in our hearts. There is much for us to
learn from their lives. Is there something common between the Ansaar
of Madeenah and us today? I suggest: Thereis something funda­mental.
Let us look at the story of the Ansaar and reflect on our
com­monality.
The Ansaar, literally the supporters, of Madeenah,were a gift of
Allaah to Islam. Their sacrifices were immense and their faith
stunning. They believed in Islam as soon as they heard Mus'ab ibn
'Umayr recite the words of Allaah to them, and finally invited the
Messenger of Allaah to move to their township.
Poor and war torn, Yathrib, the house of grief, was an apt name for
what is now Madeenah. But Allaah hasdistinguished its people with
hearts that are pure and beautiful, and even today the generous
manners of the people ofMadeenah remind us of their hospitality to the
Beloved Messenger of Allaah. Inviting the Muslims to their land,
andgiving them protection, was tantamount to announcing war against
all the Arabs, particularly the most influential of them, the Quraysh.
The Prophet's loving but so-far non-Muslim uncle, Abbaas, warned the
Madeenans: "You should know what you are getting yourself into... you
better not take my nephew from my protection and then abandon him."
The Ansaar, of course, knew this well. Their faith-filledanswer was:
"Even of the Messenger of Allaah leadsus into the sea, we will follow
him. We will not say what the children of Israel said to Mousa: 'fight
you and your Lord, O Mousa, and we are sitting right here.'"
The Ansaar knew how to keep their word. They surprised any
estimationsof human sacrifice the world had known by how readily they
embraced their pennilessrefugee brothers—the Muhajiroon—and shared
with them all their wealth and property. When the rebellious tribeof
Banu an-Nadheer was expelled from Madeenah without a battle, the
Prophet of Allaah distributed the spoils to the poor Muhajiroon.
TheAnsaar submitted to the decision with their characteristic faith.
The sacrifice of the Ansaar and their preference for their immigrant
brothers at their own expense won them applause even fromthe Lord of
seven heavens, and Allaah, Said what means: "And [also for] those who
were settled in al-Madeenah and [adopted] the faith before them. They
love those who emigrated to them and find not any want in their
breasts of what the emigrants weregiven but give [them] preference
over themselves, even though they are in privation. Andwhoever is
protected from the stinginess of his soul – it is those who will be
the successful." [Quran59:9]
However, the strongest test of the Ansaar was yetto come. The conquest
of Makkah brought a large number of Makkans and other Arab tribes into
Islam. Among them were honorable chiefs and influential leaders who
likely felt they had lost the battle against Islam even though they
had embraced Islam. When the battle of Hunayn followed and more
spoilsof war were secured, the Prophet sought to attract and soften
the hearts of these new-Muslims by giving them the majority of the
spoils, while some went to the poor Muhajoroon, but nothing to the
Ansaar.
The Ansaar were hurt. Did this mean that the Prophet was now going to
forget them, now that has regained his own city, and was he going to
turn his back to them? Why were they deprived of their share ofthe
spoils? Rumors started to go around. Hassan ibn Thaabit, the poet of
the Ansar recited lines of poetry that mean: "Go to the Prophet and
say you are the best among all human beings. Why should you invite
Sulaim tribe to take a share of war spoils although they are mere
Muhajiroon while you deprived the Ansaar who gave shelter, support and
help to Muhajiroon."
We will let Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri, an Ansaari, give the account, as
reported by Ibn Is'haaq:
The leader of the Ansaar, Sa'd ibn 'Ubaadah went immediately to the
Prophet and said, "O Messenger of Allaah, this group of the Ansaar are
displeased with what youdid with the spoils of war. You have
distributed war booty among your people, and have given generous
portions to the Arab tribes, but you did not give the Ansaar
anything." The Prophet asked him, "What is your opinion about it?"
Sa'd answered with the same bluntness, "I am butone of my people."The
Prophet asked him to gather the Ansaar.
The Ansaar were gathered, and no one else but them was allowed in the
meeting. The Messenger of Allaah said, "O Ansaar, I heardthat an
incident that happened recently made you feel ill at ease.... Now, did
I not find you ignorant and guided you to the way of Allaah? Did I not
find you poor and Allaah enriched you of His bounty? Did I not find
you enemies and Allaah joined your hearts together?"
They answered, "Indeed, Allaah and His Prophet are far more generous
and better."
The Prophet then said, "Don't you have anything to say, O Ansaar?"
They answered, "There is nothing to be said but that Allaah and His
Prophet have the grace and bounty."
The Prophet then said, "By Allaah, you could have said—and if you did,
you would have been truthful and acknowledged—We believed in you at a
time when all called you a liar.We supported you at a time when you
were frustrated. We gave you our money at a time when you were poor
andwe even sheltered you at a time when you were homeless. O Ansaar,
are you upset for a thing so trivial and worldly that I gave to some
people so as to join their hearts to Islam and left you out of it,
believing that your Islam sufficed you? Is it not enough for you that
the rest of the people willgo home with a sheep or a camel, whereas
you willreturn with the Messenger of Allaah? By Allaah in Whose Hands
is Muhammad's soul, you return with a better thing than they went home
with. If not for the migration, I would ratherhave been one of the
Ansaar. If the people moved in one way, and the Ansaar moved the other
way, I would choose the way of the Ansaar. O Allaah, do have mercy on
the Ansaar, their children, and their children's children."
By the time the Prophet concluded his words, their beards were wet
with tears, for the words of the beloved Prophet filled their hearts
withtranquility and enriched their souls. All of them cried out, "It
is enough for us to have the Messenger of Allaah as our reward!"
This is precisely what is common between the Ansaar and us: "It is
enough for us to have the Messenger of Allaah as our reward! As
Muslims, we are oppressed, suspected andharassed in the world; we have
inherited none of the glorious riches or powerful empires of early
Islam. We get no booty for being Muslims, no worldly glory, and no
advantages. Still, we are to struggle in the path of Allaah, sacrifice
in His way, trusting that "He never fails His promise," while nothing
is on our side... except Allaah and His Messenger!