Sahaba

Musaylimah used to pray three times a day. He used to lie and say Qur’an was revealed to him, and he’d make up verses of “Qur’an”. In one instance, the people came to him and asked “was anything revealed?” “Not yet.” And later, “anything yet?” “Nope.”. And later “Anything yet?” “Nope.” At one point, some people came to him and one said “was anything revealed to the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم)?

A man came to the Prophet (salallhu alayhi wa sallam) from Al-Yamamah, learned some Quran, and apostated and joined Musalimah. His kunya (pet-name) was Ar-Rajal (“the man”). He endorsed Musaylimah. His fitna was more intense then Musaylimah. People thought he was learned and scholarly, and he believed in Musaylimah. It caused a huge doubt among the ignorant people. They felt that if Ar-Rajal listened, they should listen, too. Today, everyone has endorsements.

Musaylimah al-Kadhab (Musaylimah the Liar) claimed prophethood during the time of the Prophet, sallalahu alayhi wa sallam. He sent a letter to the prophet saying “Good news, I’m a prophet too! So you be the prophet of the Hijaz area (very hilly area near the sea where the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) resided) and I’ll be the prophet of the Najd area.” The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) replied with “From Muhammad the Messenger of Allah to Musaylimah the liar.

Among the culture of the mujahideen is that they honoured each others’ families. If someone died in battle, their wives were married to people of equal stature after the ‘iddah (mourning period). Malik ibn An-Nuwayrah, during the time of Abu Bakr as-Siddique, radiallahu ‘an, did not want to pay zakaah. There’s a difference of opinion, and Allahu ‘alim, he (Malik ibn An-Nuwayrah) was not Muslim. Kahlid bin Walid killed him one night.

The key to gender interaction (aka gender relations) is professionalism. During the lifetime of the Prophet, peace be upon him, ‘Umar said to one woman sahaba in Abysinnia: “We have more right to the Prophet then you”. She said (to the effect of) “nope”. She approached the Prophet and narrated the incident to him, and he said “‘Umar was incorrect. You (Abyssinians) made hijrah (migration) twice, you get double the reward.

During the reign of Prophet Muhammad (صلي الله عليه وسلم), and later, the reign of Abu Bakr, the first Khalifa, may Allah be pleased with him, Khalid bin Walid, commander of the Muslim army, rocked the non-Muslim armies again and again and again and lead the Muslims to many victories. In this way, he became a fitnah–people ascribed victory to him, and not to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). After the battle of Yarmuk, the newly-instated Khalifa, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) removed Khalid bin Walid from leadership of the army and instated Abu Ubaydah (RA) as the commander.

Never label. Human beings are not two-dimensional that you can slap a label onto them and classify them. One of the best ways to destroy ties between people, groups, and organizations is to label them. Even if they deserve it, don’t do it. When you find yourself applying a label to someone, ask yourself: Will this action please Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)? When you find others who label, back away. You don’t want to involve yourself with people like that.

In one of the battles in the time of the Khulafa Rashideen, the Muslim armies attacked a fort behind a trench. With a trench, defenses spread thin: 500 people need to guard all points of the trench. So in any given area, you have only a few guards. How did the Muslims succeed? They find the one lazy guy–if the trench is eight feet deep and six feet across, they find the location two feet deep and one foot across–and focus the entire army towards that one location, all the hundreds or thousands of mujahideen.

The dedication of sahaba is no joke. They strove beyond the physical limtations of their bodies. When they couldn’t stand, or open their eyes, they continued. Their dedication to Allah transcended their bodies. In the battle of Yamamah, when Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (RA) lay in the nursing docks after one battle, he heard a shout from outside–ya ahlil ansar, “o people of the Ansar”. He spotted an ansari nearby–a man critically injured, couldn’t walk, incapacitated, being nursed.

The illustrious sahaba (companions of the Prophet), may Allah be pleased with all of them, competed in righteousness. They did not compete for the largest house or the biggest family. They competed, among other things, for the honour of guard ingthe Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) in battle. They divided into tribes and competed with other tribes. The amirs, too, competed with each other. For example, in the campaign in Ash-Sham, the two armies competed–who could be the fastest to fight their way to the key city?