The exchange between Umar R.A and Abdullah bin Masood R.A

 Abdullah ibn Masud R.A attained such a knowledge of the Quran that he would say, "By Him besides Whom there is no god, no verse of the book of God has been revealed without my knowing where it was revealed and the circumstances of its revelation. By God, if I know there was anyone who knew more of the Book of Allah, I will do whatever is in my power to be with him."

Abdullah R.A was not exaggerating in what he said about himself. Once Amirul mu'mineen, Umar ibn al-Khattab R.A met a caravan on one of his journeys as caliph. It was pitch dark and the caravan could not be seen properly. Umar R.A ordered someone to hail the caravan. It happened that Abdullah ibn Masud was in it.

"From where do you come?" asked Umar.

"From a deep valley," came the reply. (The expression used fajj amiq deep valley--is a Quranic one).

"And where are you going?" asked Umar.

"To the ancient house," came the reply. (The expression used al-bayt al-atiq ancient house, is a Quranic one.)

"There is a learned person (Alim) among them," said Umar and he commanded someone to ask the person:

"Which part of the Quran is the greatest?"

"God. There is no god except Him, the Living, the Self-subsisting. Neither slumber overtakes Him nor sleep," replied the person answering, quoting the Ayat al-Kursi (the verse of the Throne).

"Which part of the Quran is the most clear on justice?"

"God commands what it just and fair the feeding of relatives..." came the answer.

"What it the most comprehensive statement of the Quran?'

"Whoever does an atom's weight of good shall see it, and whoever does an atom's weight of evil shall see it."

"Which part of the Quran gives risk to the greatest hope?'

"Say, O my servants who have wasted their resources, do not despair of the mercy of God. Indeed, God forgives all sins. He is the Forgiving, the Compassionate."

Thereupon Umar asked:

"Is Abdullah ibn Masud among you?'

"Yes, by God," the men in the caravan replied.

What Does the Quran Say About Youth?

 بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

إِنَّهُمْ فِتْيَةٌ آمَنُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ وَزِدْنَاهُمْ هُدًى

innahum fityatun amanoo birabbihim wazidnahum hudan

Indeed, they were youths who believed in their Lord, and We increased them in guidance.

(Surah Al-Kahf, Quran 18:13)

My dear brothers and sisters, youth, elders- the Prophet (pbuh) was once sitting with his most beloved companions, Abu Bakr and Omar and Ali and ‘Uthman. And he said,

وَدِدْتُ أَنِّي قَدْ رَأَيْتُ إِخْوَانَنَا – “I wish I could see my brothers.”

And they all started looking around and they asked him,

أَلَسْنَا إِخْوَانَكَ – “Are we not your brothers?“

And the Prophet (pbuh) replied, أَنْتُمْ أَصْحَابِي وَلَكِنْ إِخْوَانِي الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِي وَلَمْ يَرَوْنِي – “You are my companions, but my brothers are the ones that will come after me and they will believe in me, even though they have not seen me.”

Those are my brothers. So that’s us that he’s talking about. That’s us. We are the brothers and sisters of the Prophet (pbuh) that he wants to see. SubhanAllah. He wants to see us bring about good. He wants to see us in Jannah. He wants to see us on the Day of Judgment, as a part of his nation, as a part of his Ummah. Today I would like to talk about one segment of this ummah that is on everyone’s minds and that is our youth, our young people.

I remember growing up in Houston, Texas and we would hear khutbah after khutbah about how the youth are misguided. The youth have no direction. We need to guide the youth. And honestly, it was depressing to hear that, “oh, the youth are misguided.” It’s actually pretty depressing to hear that every Jummah after Jummah, Friday after Friday.

It’s important that we empower our young people and that we give them a positive message and role models to look up to. Both role models from the past and role models from the present. The Prophet (pbuh) was a positive person. He was an optimistic person. Our book, the Quran- what does it start with? It starts with الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ – it starts with all praises are due to Allah. This is an optimistic message. This is a positive message.

A lot of times we see things going on in the media and we see things going on here and there and in the community. And we start to become cynical and we start to become negative, when in actuality, there is so much to be positive about. In the past 60 years, there was no Islam in this country or Islam was at a very small footprint in this country, starting with the slaves that were brought over here forcefully. But in the past 50-60 years, SubhanAllah, there’s Muslims in every corner. There are large numbers of Muslims in every major city, SubhanAllah.

I taught at an Islamic school in the U.S. Virgin islands (in the middle of the Caribbean.) Who would have thought that there’s a large enough Muslim population for there to be an Islamic school in the middle of the Caribbean? SubhanAllah, and that’s only happened in the past 50-70 years. So there’s so much to be positive and so much to be optimistic about actually, but we have to sometimes look at the bigger picture.

So, what does the Quran tell us about young people?

If you look at the examples that are given to us of the prophets, they were not old people. They were young people. So some of you might be thinking, “well, I’m past that age, now I’m old. So what does this have to do with me?” Well, the responsibility of the elders is to direct, to guide, to advise, to have mercy, to allow the young people to make mistakes. And it’s the young people’s job to be the torchbearers for our next generation- to be the generation that brings Islam forward in this country and in this world. That is the responsibility of the youth. And that’s a huge responsibility. I know it sounds like such a huge thing.

Let us look at the examples from the Quran-

The first example that comes to mind is the story of Yusuf (as). As a young boy, he is betrayed by his own brothers. He doesn’t start off life on the right foot. He’s just a young boy and his brothers have dumped him in the middle of the jungle in a well, but does he lose hope? Does he lose patience? No, he is resilient. His belief in Allah remains strong. That is why he eventually, even after being sold into slavery, even after being put into prison for many years and forgotten, eventually he rises to the top of the entire government of Egypt. He gets to the top and the king places him in the highest position. He has all the power. Whatever he wants to do, he can do. He rises there, SubhanAllah! What a story.

We look at the story of Ibrahim (as). He was a young boy when he questioned the ways of his father’s forefathers and questioned his own father. Even though his father threatened him, that “if you continue questioning, I’m going to beat you up,” he still questioned and eventually he left and he became a Prophet of Allah.

If we look at Ismail (as), he was a teenager and his father came to him and said, “Allah says I have to sacrifice you.” And what did he say? He said, “if Allah is telling you this, O Father, then go ahead. Do what you have to do.

سَتَجِدُنِي إِن شَاءَ اللَّهُ مِنَ الصَّابِرِينَ

satajidunee in shaa Allahu mina alssabireena

You will find me, if Allah wills, of the steadfast.”

(Surah As-Saffat, Quran 37:102)

you will find me patient. I will be patient. I will do what needs to be done.”

If you look at the example of Maryam (as) – she has to confront her people with this baby. Everyone’s wondering, where did this child come from? And she has to confront her people all by herself. Everyone has left her side. Everyone is accusing her of wrong doing and she has to bring this child SubhanAllah. Can you imagine what she must have felt? “Through those nine months, what’s going to happen to me? What are the people going to say to me?” But Allah tells her to take a vow of silence and she comes forward. She puts her trust in Allah and the baby speaks. Subhan Allah. The child, Isa (as), speaks.

All of these examples that the Quran gives are of young people. Young people are our greatest resource. I don’t think anyone doubts that, but it’s important that we emphasize them and we maintain positivity and optimism, and that we push and we encourage them and we give them as many opportunities as they need. And that we work together for that.

We look at the story of the people of the cave, Surah Al-Kahf. The surah that we are encouraged to read every Friday, you have the story of the people of the cave. Allah says, إِنَّهُمْ فِتْيَةٌ آمَنُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ وَزِدْنَاهُمْ هُدًى – Allah explicitly says they were young people who believed in their Lord, وَزِدْنَاهُمْ هُدًى and so we increased them in guidance. As a result of them being youth, we increase them in guidance. We increase them in the support that they had, even though they had no support amongst their people, even though they had to stand up against the ruler and they had to face the persecution and the discrimination. They did it, even though they were young people. And so Allah protected them. Allah gave them refuge because they placed their trust in him. So those are some of the stories from the Qur’an that many of us have heard, but we need to realize that these were young people that were doing. They were the resource of the ummah. They were the resource of Islam.

And if we look at the companions of the Prophet (pbuh), Ali (ra) was the first Muslim male to accept Islam. How old was he? He was eight years old. Omar (may Allah be pleased with him) was in his twenties. ‘Uthman (ra) also in his early twenties or late teens. They were all very young. Subhan Allah.

After the Prophet’s (pbuh) death, even before he died, he appointed Osama as the leader of an army and Osama was 19 years old. 19 years old, and he was leading an army. There were people that were much more experienced than him that he was leading. But the Prophet (pbuh) entrusted him. After the Prophet (pbuh) died, people said, “well, you know what? We shouldn’t put Osama. He is not experienced, he’s young.” And Abu Bakr (ra) said, “how can I remove Osama when the Prophet (pbuh) has put Osama in this position? How can I remove him?” And so he led the army and he succeeded.

So those were the examples of the companions. They went far and wide. They could have stayed in Medina but it is because of their sacrifices that they were young and they could go out and they could spread the message of Islam that many of us today, we are Muslim because of their sacrifices. So those were the companions of the Prophet (pbuh).

If we look today, still we find young Muslims. Mohammed Ali, the boxer, he was 24, after he won the championship and the Vietnam war came about and he was drafted and he refused to be drafted into the army. And as a result, what happened? They took away all of his titles. They took away all of his titles and from 24 to 28, lost four years of peak boxing years. Those were the years where you make the most money. You have all your titles in those four years, he lost all four of those years. He sacrificed them. Subhan Allah.

Malcolm X was in his twenties when he became a leader and when he became the face of his community. Even today we have, Subhan Allah. sister Ilham. She’s a Somali American in the legislation and the state representative in Minnesota.

So it’s important for us to encourage our young people to follow these role models and to continue to do good, especially when times are tough. Because all the examples- Yusuf (as), Ibrahim (as), Maryam (as), the people of the cave. All of these people. It was not easy for them. It was actually very difficult for them. They had to go through trials and tribulations. No one said it was going to be easy.

Allah tells us, “Did you think that you would say you believe and you would not be tested?” Yes. There will be a test, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Allah promises us in Surah Ash-Sharh, Quran 94:5 – فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا – that with every hardship, with every difficulty there comes ease. It’s one of the only verses that is recited twice in a row. إِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا – remember that with difficulty there comes ease.

One of the things that’s important for us to remember, because someone might say, “young people, they’ve lost their respect. They don’t respect their elders.” This is where I remind everyone of the hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) when he says,

لَيْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ لَمْ يَرْحَمْ صَغِيرَنَا وَيُوَقِّرْ كَبِيرَنَا – “He is not one of us who does not have mercy on our young and does not respect our elders” . (Jami-at Tirmidhi)

He is not amongst us, who does not respect the elders and does not have mercy on youth. So Prophet (pbuh) put these two groups of people together. The first thing he said was, “respect your elders, respect them. They lived longer than you. They have experience, they have wisdom. Respect them, respect what they have to say. Even if you disagree, respectfully disagree with etiquette. And if you have nothing good to say, then stay silent and just accept it.“

The Prophet (pbuh) says that, “whoever doesn’t do this, they’re not from us.” Then we also have to remember the second half of this hadith, what did he say?

“and لَمْ يَرْحَمْ صَغِيرَنَا – the one who is not merciful to those that are younger.” So someone that is younger than you. Yes. They are bound to make mistakes. They’re bound to do things that you think don’t make any sense. “Why are you doing this? How could you do this?” But that’s what young people do. They make mistakes. If you have younger siblings, if you have children, if you’re a teacher and you have students or if you’re at work and you have interns in your company, I’m sure you know that young people make mistakes. They don’t know everything. Sometimes they don’t want to hear what you have to say, and you have to allow them to make those mistakes themselves sometimes. But Prophet (pbuh) told us the forefront, there should be mercy. “If you don’t show mercy to young people then you are not from us.”

So Prophet (pbuh) directs both the elders and the youth all at once and tells the elders to act as advisors and guides and to provide direction, but to also have mercy. And he asks the youth that as young people, you’re doing things and you want to do new things and you have fresh ideas and you want to bring new things upfront and forward. But you should also respect your elders. You should not forget them on the way there. So we ask Allah to guide us and to make us amongst those who follow the way of the Prophets and the companions of the Prophets. Ameen.

So when it comes to the relationship between young people and older people, the first place it starts at is in the home. Of course, there’s a whole khutbah I will eventually give on on parents. But for now it’s important to remind ourselves that the first place where this relationship starts is at home, between parents and children. That parents, your children will make mistakes and it’s important for you to show mercy. Sometimes you have to allow them to make mistakes. You don’t have to control every single little segment of their lives. Sometimes you have to allow them to make mistakes on their own. Yes, you advise them and you direct them as much as you can, but you cannot force them. As a part of mercy, you have to allow them some freedom to make their own mistakes.

Even the companions, the Sahaba of the Prophet (pbuh), they made mistakes. They committed sins but they are still the best of generations, even though they made mistakes. Even though it was they who, when the Prophet (pbuh) told the group, “make sure during the battle of Uhud, that you stay here by the mountain to protect our backs.” And those people that were supposed to guard the backs of the Muslims, they ran forward and they left their positions.

And what did Allah say about them? Even though they did such a terrible thing. They left their positions and so many Muslims died in the battle of Uhud. They were not able to defend themselves and they died. SubhanAllah, they got attacked from behind and the Prophet’s (pbuh) own uncle, Hamza, passed away in the battle of Uhud.

Even though that happened, what does Allah say?

فَاعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِى الْاَمْرِۚ

faoAAfu AAanhum waistaghfir lahum washawirhum fee alamri 

So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the matter. 

(Surah Baqarah, Quran 3:159)

“O Prophet of Allah. Forgive them. Pardon them, seek forgiveness for them, and consult them.” Isn’t that amazing? When someone makes a mistake what do you say? Well, “I don’t want to listen to your advice because you’ve made a mistake.” But still, even though they made a mistake, Allah commands the Prophet (pbuh), “No, consult them, still take their advice.” Even though young people might have made mistakes in the past, we can still take their advice and we can take their consultation.

This is something that even Omar (ra) did. He used to take Ibn Abbas to all of his meetings. Omar is this 50 year old man and Ibn Abbas is barely out of his teens. He’s 19-20 and he takes him along to all of his meetings and he consults with him that, “what is your idea? What is your advice? What do you think? You’re young, but what do you think?” That is the way the Prophet (pbuh) taught his companions to be. That is the way he taught his Sahaba to be, to take advice from everyone, even if they’re much younger because they can give you a perspective that you’ve never heard before.

As I was saying, it starts at the home that parents should make sure that they consult with their children. They should see what their children have to say. They should not shame and humiliate their children in front of others. A lot of time as parents, we fall into that. We shame or humiliate our children in front of other people. We cannot do that. That’s not a part of mercy. The Prophet (pbuh) said, “if you don’t have mercy, you’re not from us.”

Similarly, children will have to respect what your parents have to say. You have to respect. You have to hear them out. You can’t interrupt them. You can’t shout at them. You can’t get angry at them and break things or shout at them or whatever. You have to respect what they have to say. If you disagree, you have to disagree in the best of ways, in the most respectful way. And if you can’t manage to do that, then you stay silent. You don’t say anything. So it starts at the home. If the home is good, then the whole community is good. But if the home is bad, then the whole community turns bad. The home is the heart of the community.

The second thing that people say is, “well, what can I do with my children or with my youth?” There’s a lot of things that go on, but you actually have to go out of your way to ask someone. Ask the imam, ask the community members, go on the website, there’s so many ways for you to find out what’s going on.

So we ask Allah, that He guides us, that He guides our youth, that He guides our elders, that He guides our children, that He guides our parents, that He guides our grand parents. That He blesses us and that He forgives us for our shortcomings. We ask Allah that He helps us to follow the way of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). We ask Allah that He guides our community, that He helps our community, that He protects our community. We ask Allah that He accept our good deeds. Ameen.

عِبَادَ اللّهِ  إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ  يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ

Servants of Allah. Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.

اُذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ واشْكُرُوهُ يَزِدْكُمْ واسْتَغْفِرُوهُ يَغْفِرْ لكُمْ واتّقُوهُ يَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَمْرِكُمْ مَخْرَجًا

 وَأَقِمِ الصّلَاة

Remember Allah, the Great – He will remember you. Thank Him for His favors – He will increase you therein.  And seek forgiveness from Him – He will forgive you. And be conscious of Him – He will provide you a way out of difficult matters.

And, establish the prayer.

Muslims in the court of Rustam, the king of Persia

The Muslim army entered Persia under the command of Sa’d ibn Waqaas Radhi Allahu Anhu. The two armies were set for battle when the Persian king, Rustam, sent a message to Sa’d requesting for a representative intelligent enough to answer questions. Mughira ibn Shuba Radhi Allahu Anhu was sent. The following conversation then ensued:

Rustam : “You are our neighbours. We have a good relationship with you. We do not harm you. Go back home. We will not stop you from coming to our cities for trade purposes.”

Mughira : “We seek not this world. We seek the Hereafter. Allah has sent to us a prophet with His message : ‘I have sent you to rule over these men. Those who do not accept My religion, I will take them to task. Those who testify to the true religion I will grant them victory. The one who turns away from this religion will be disgraced. The one who respects it will be honoured.”

Rustam : “What is this religion of your prophet?”

Mughira : “The most important pillar of this faith is to bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Mohammed is His messenger.”

Rustam : “This is fine. Anything else?”

Mughira : “To remove men from the slavery of men and to lead them towards the worship of Allah.”

Rustam : “This is fine. Anything else?”

Mughira : “The children of Adam are brothers to one another. They are the progeny of one pair of parents. In other words, the Arab and non-Arab, by virtue of being human, are all equal.”

Rustam : “This is fine also. But tell me : If we accept your religion will you leave our cites in peace?”

Mughira : “By the Oath of Allah, we will leave. We will not come to you again except for trade and necessities. ”

Thereafter, Rustam discussed the issue with his courtiers. He encouraged them to accept Islam. They adamantly refused.

Then on the request of Rustam, Sa’d sent Rab’i ibn Aamir Radhi Allahu Anhu as a messenger to Rustam. Rab’i entered his court which they had decorated with embroided cushions and rugs. Precious rubies, pearls and beautiful ornaments were on display. He had on him a crown and other valuable adornments. He was sitting on a throne made of gold. Rab’i entered with tattered clothing, a sword, a shield and a small horse. He continued riding it until it stepped onto a portion of the carpet. He then dismounted and tied it around one of the pillars. He stepped forward holding his sword and armour, his helmet still on his head.

The courtiers asked him to remove his sword but Rab’i refused saying : ‘I did not come of my own accord. I only came because you called me. You either leave me as I am or I will return.’

Rustam allowed him to come forward. He stepped onto the carpet leaning on his spear tearing most of it in the process.

The courtiers began to question him : ‘What has brought you?’

Rab’i : ‘Allah sent us to remove those who He has chosen from the worship of mankind to the worship of Allah, from the confines of the world to the expanses of the hereafter, from the oppression of other faiths to the justice of Islam. He sent us with His religion to His creation so that we may call them to Him. Whosoever accepts this we accept him and withdraw from him. Whosoever refuses we will continue fighting him until we lead him to the promise of Allah.’

The courtiers : ‘What is the promise if Allah?’

Rab’i : ‘ Paradise for those who die fighting the unfaithful and victory for those who survive.’

Rustam : ‘I have heard your message. Can you delay this matter long enough to allow us to ponder over it?’

Rab’i : ‘Yes. How long do you require, a day or two?’

Rustam : ‘No. We require time to correspond with the knowledgeable and leaders of our people.’

Rab’i : ‘The Prophet of Allah did not command us to give respite to our enemies for more than three days. So, see to your and their interests and choose one of these three options within this time period.’

Rustam : ‘Are you their leader?’

Rab’i : ‘No. But all Muslims are like one body. The lowest from them can give asylum to the most honourable.’

Rustam assembled with the leaders of his nation and said : ‘Have you ever heard words more respectable and superior than the words of this man?’

They replied : ‘God forbid that you incline to anything of this man and discard your religion in favour of this dog! Did you not see his clothes?’

Rustam replied : ‘Woe to you! Do not look at clothes. Look at the view, the words and the conduct. Arabs give no attention to clothing and food. They guard the nobility of their status.’ “

The next day the courtiers of Rustam requested another representative. Sa’d sent Huzaifah ibn Mahaz Radhi Allahu Anhu. He repeated what Rab’i had said. On the third day Mughira ibn Sh’uba was sent to them and he gave the same message as those before him.

Thereafter, Rustam took an oath upon the sun saying : “Tomorrow I will surely kill you.” Mughira replied : “That is left to be seen.”

Rustam also said : “I have commanded that each of you be given a pair of clothes and your leader be given a thousand dinars, a pair of clothes and a conveyance. Take these things and disperse!”

Mughira replied : “What! After we have tainted your status, can we leave you as you are. We will most certainly remain in your cities and we will take the jizya from you. You will pay the jizya in disgrace. You will become our slaves.”

This angered Rustam even more. A fierce battle ensued. The Muslims were seven thousand strong while the enemy was seventy thousand strong. The Persians were humiliated and suffered a crushing defeat. (Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidayah Wa-Nihayah, vol. 7, p.39)

Lessons

1. The Sahabah were not affected by worldly wealth and riches. They remained dedicated to their mission of spreading the teachings of Islam.

2. Islam does not depend upon superiority of numbers and weapons. Muslims believe that victory hinges upon faith (Imaan) and the help of Allah Azza Wajal.

Rabiah ibn Amir & Rustum

 Al Tabari  رحمه الله narrated in his  تاريخ الرسل والملوك,  commonly called Tarikh al-Tabari the story of the Sahabee Rabiah ibn Amir’s رضي الله عنه encounter with the Persian leader Rustum as one of the precursor events of the famous battle of Qadisiyah [Sha’ban, 15 AH/September 636 CE].

Sa’d ibn Abi Waqas رضي الله عنه was sent a representative to speak with Rustum [the army general of Persian Empire]. Rabiah Ibn ‘Amir رضي الله عنه was one chosen by the Sa’d to go and meet with Rustum. Rabiah Ibn ‘Amir رضي الله عنه was very poor man. He rode in on a short-legged horse hairy horse and his sword was wrapped in an old piece of cloth. He didn’t even have a proper sheath for his sword and the blade of his spear was tied to its end with some cloth. He was wearing clothes that are very inexpensive and modest.

The Persians had prepared for this meeting. It’s a high level meeting with Rustum and representative of the Muslim army. Persian rugs were laid out, the throne set for Rustum and this throne was made of gold and he had brocaded dress threaded with gold threads all over. There were royal guards on both sides of the carpet which Rabiah Ibn ‘Amir was suppose to walk over.

This was the protocol for a high level meeting practiced by the Persians and Romans during the time, and now that they (the Persians) were dealing with Muslims they thought that protocol would remain the same.

So they expected Rabiah Ibn ‘Amir رضي الله عنه to come on a very nice steed of a horse dressed in expensive clothes wielding the best armour. He should have been accompanied by, guards or at least group of advisors with him. He disembark his horse and walk on the carpet in a formal way then come and sit under Rustum.

On the contrary, Rabiah Ibn ‘Amir رضي الله عنه riding in on his short legged horse, didn’t get off, rather rode onto the rugs with his horse.

The guards tried to stop him, but he carried on and he went on to tear apart two pillows that were there and he tied his horse to those pillows.

He walked in with his weapons so the guards again tried to stop him at the entrance to the place where Rustum is sitting asking him to remove his arms. He said well I didn’t come here on my own but you are the ones who invited me so either you let me in with my arms or I am going to leave. They went and told Rustum, so Rustum allowed him in. Rabiah Ibn ‘Amir walked in with confidence with his spear pointed downwards and with the blade and he was poking the rugs and he is making holes in them.

Rabiah Ibn ‘Amir رضي الله عنه didn’t care for all of this pomp, extravagance and nor did he want to show he was uncomfortable being there.

Rustum said, “ما جآء بكم” why did you come to our land?

Rabiah Ibn Amir رضي الله عنه, even with his ragged appearance was after all a Sahabee , cultivated under the best of creation (ﷺ)

Rabiah Ibn ‘Amir رضي الله عنه responded with a beautiful response:

الله ابتعثنا لنخرج من شاء من عبادة العباد إلى عبادة الله، ومن ضيق الدنيا إلى سعتها، ومن جور الأديان إلى عدل الإسلام

“Allah عز و جل has sent us to deliver you from worshiping the creation to worshiping the Creator of the creation and to deliver you from the constriction of this world to the vastness of this world and the after life and from the oppression of the religions to the justice of Islam. ”

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This was all too applicable, with Rustum sitting on throne rest of his minions sitting on the floor and in reference to the abundant slavery and servitude of men.

Verily in sharp contrast, the Prophet (ﷺ) always used to sit at the same level of his companions and dress the same.

Rabee Ibn Amir رضي الله عنه, was referring to Allah عز و جل sending the Muslims us to deliver these people from the constriction of this life. For verily this dunya [world] is lowly, narrow and constricted to the vastness of this life and the after life.

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ أَلَا إِنَّ الدُّنْيَا مَلْعُونَةٌ مَلْعُونٌ مَا فِيهَا إِلَّا ذِكْرُ اللَّهِ وَمَا وَالَاهُ وَعَالِمٌ أَوْ مُتَعَلِّمٌ

2322 سنن الترمذي كِتَاب الزُّهْدِ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بَاب مِنْهُ

قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ

Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) , peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Is not the world cursed and everything in it? It is so except for the remembrance of Allah and what facilitates it, the scholar and the seeker of knowledge.”

Source: Sunan At-Tirmidhi 2322 – Grade: Hasan (fair) according to At-Tirmidhi

بَلْ تُؤْثِرُونَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا

Nay, you prefer the life of this world; [87:16]

وَالْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى

though the Hereafter is better and more lasting. [87:17]

Ibn Taymiah  رحمه الله , when they threatened him with jail and when they threatened him with execution, said; ”what can you do with me? My Jannah is in my heart. If you take me to jail I will make dhikr [rememberence] of Allah عز و جل, if you exile me out of my land I will make “تفكر” [Tafakur] contemplating creation of Allah عز و جل, if you execute me I would be a “شهيد”[shaheed]”. What can you do with me? ‘ما يفعلوا اذاء بى’ because I am not limited to this Dunya and living for Akhirah.

الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُمْ بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ

Those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah – Islamic Monotheism), and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah, Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest. [13:28]

The Prophet (ﷺ) said,
“عجباً امر مؤمن ان امره كله له خير إن اصابته سرآء شكر فكان خيرًا له و ان اصابته ضرآء صبر فكان خيراً
له وليس ذالك لى عهد الى المؤمن”

[صحيح مسلم]

“I am amazed with the situation of the believer if something good happens to him he thanks Allaah and its good for him and if something bad happens to him, he is patient and that’s good for him and that happens to no one but to the believer”.

[Sahih Muslim]

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Rustum then said, “and what are you?” he said, “use to eat dead animals, you were so hungry use to run after dogs in desert”. Rabiah Ibn ‘Amir رضي الله عنه said, “ we offer you three options, if you become Muslim we will leave you and your land and your people alone. If you refuse then you pay us Jizzya in a state of submission, if you refuse then the sword is between us and you”. Rustum said,” You need to give us time to think about it”. Rabiah Ibn ‘Amir رضي الله عنه said,” We will give you three days”. Rustum said, ”No, we need more than that”. Rabiah Ibn ‘Amir رضي الله عنه said,” The Sunnah, the way of Muhammad is that we give our enemy three days to think about it and we will visit you during those three days, on the fourth day we will start fighting”. Rustum wanted more time to send letters to the Emperor to seek advice, from the noble men and elders of their Empire but he had only three days.
On the second day Mughira bin Shu’ba رضي الله عنه went to met with Rustum and he came in straight and he sat on the throne with Rustum. The throne was big so he sat next to Rustum so the guards came to pull him down, you are not suppose to sit on the same level as Rustum. Mughira bin Shu’ba رضي الله عنه said,’ that you are the people who worship each other but that is not how we Muslims do with each other but that’s not how we Muslims treat each other, we treat each other with equality”.

At-Tabari  رحمه الله commented on how Rabiah Ibn ‘Amir رضي الله عنه and Mughira bin Shu’ba رضي الله عنه effected the lower classes among the Persians that were present i.e. servants, soldiers and guards when they heard the statements of Muslims and how the Muslims treated each other with equality and the fact that there are not here invade the lands of others, just for love of power they are doing it for the sake of Allaah عز و جل , to save people from darkness to light. That left a strong impression on them. They were thinking about Islam even before the battle started. The battle of Qadissiya then began and it was an overwhilming victory for the Muslims even though they were outnumbered by some estimates at 5:1.