وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْرًا أَن يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ وَمَن يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا مُّبِينًا
Wa maa kaana limu’mininw wa laa mu’minatin izaa qadal laahu wa Rasooluhooo amran ai yakoona lahumul khiyaratu min amrihim; wa mai ya’sil laaha wa Rasoolahoo faqad dalla dalaalam mubeenaa
Al-Ahzab (The Confederates) - 33:36
Now whenever God and His Apostle have decided a matter, it is not for a believing man or a believing woman to claim freedom of choice insofar as they themselves are concerned: for he who [thus] rebels against God and His Apostle has already, most obviously, gone astray.
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱشۡتَرَىٰ مِنَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ أَنفُسَهُمۡ وَأَمۡوَٰلَهُم بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ ٱلۡجَنَّةَۚ....
Innal laahash taraa minal mu’mineena anfusahum wa amwaalahum bi anna lahumul jannah;
Part of At-Tawbah (The Repentance) 9:111 Behold, God has bought of the believers their lives and their possessions, promising them paradise in return...
Julaybib (رضي الله عنه) was companion of the Prophet(ﷺ) who, unfortunately, is not as well known as he deserves to be. Same goes for his wife. Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal mentions him in his masnad as being one from the Ansar, but not from a noble family. On top of that he was of short stature, and is described in books of history as being “damim” which means ugly, deformed, or of repulsive appearance. Even in the Medinan period of so many pious people, Julaybib was often ridiculed due to his appearance, as well as his lineage.
Once, with Julaybib(رضي الله عنه) in mind, the Prophet (ﷺ) went to one of the Ansar and said: “Give me your daughter's hand in marriage”
“How wonderful and blessed, O Messenger of Allah and what a delight to the eye (this would be),” replied the Ansari man with obvious joy and happiness.
“I do not want her for myself,” added the Prophet (ﷺ) .
“Then for whom, O Messenger of Allah?” asked the man, obviously somewhat let down.
“For Julaybib,” said the Prophet(ﷺ).
The Ansari was visibly perturbed at this, and could only muster a feeble reply: “Let me consult with her mother.”
He began with his wife like this: “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, wants to ask for your daughter's hand.”
She replied happily, “What a wonderful idea and what a delight to the eye (this would be).”
“Not for himself, but for Julaybib,” he added. She was dumbstruck, and then dismayed.
“To Julaybib! No, never to Julaybib! No, by the Living Allah, we shall not marry (her) to him,” she protested.
His daughter, overhearing this conversation, was greatly perturbed:
“Do you refuse the request of the Messenger of Allah? Send me to him for he shall certainly not bring harm to me.”
Then she quoted Al-Ahzab (33:36), and insisted that she will marry Julaybib (رضي الله عنه) .
“I am satisfied and submit myself to whatever the Messenger of Allah deems good for me.”
The Prophet(ﷺ) upon hearing her response prayed for her a prayer that he (ﷺ) never prayed for anyone else:
اللهُمَّ صُبَّ عَلَيْهَا الْخَيْرَ صَبًّا، وَلَا تَجْعَلْ عَيْشَهَا كَدًّا كَدًّا
“O Lord, bestow good on her in abundance and make not her life one of toil and trouble.”
And they lived a blessed life, good fortune greeting them at every turn, until her husband was martyred, after valiantly fighting alongside the Prophet(ﷺ).
The expedition in which Julaybib (رضي الله عنه) was martyred was not compulsory for everyone.
On the day of the expedition his father in law, pleaded with him: "'O Julaybib this is not a compulsory jihad, it is voluntary. You are newly wed, stay at home with your wife."
Julaybib (رضي الله عنه), replied: "O my father you say a strange thing, my Rasulullah is in the battlefield facing the enemies of Islam and you want me to sit at home with my wife, nay I will sacrifice my blood and my soul rather than bear to see my Rasul facing hardships while I sit at home in comfort".
It is reported that the Prophet(ﷺ) said of him:
“He is of me and I am of him.”
Lesson 2:
This story is used in teaching how we can learn from someone who was a devoted servant of another human being and become devoted to the Prophet(ﷺ):
We have mentioned the famous Georgian slave Malik Ayaz who was a close confidante of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni in a blog post
some time back. Their relationship has enamored many a writer and many a
poet over the years, inspiring cultural ballads, stories, and poems,
written by the likes of Iqbāl, ʿAṭṭār et al.
Mostly,
the stories revolve around his undying love and devotion to his master,
and sometimes about his wit and also how the Sultan requited this love
and devotion. It is very difficult to separate fact from legend, but
based on several sources, we compiled the story of his initial encounter
and initial time with the Sultan, in context of the verse mentioned
above.
Ayaz's master was in dire straits and was in
desperate need of money, and even selling all his assets would not
guarantee him the amount he needed. Ayaz suggested that the master sell
him at a hundred thousand dirhams (normal price being a few hundred
dirhams), with the claim that "Ayaz truly knows servitude".
At
that scandalous asking price, Ayaz remained unsold. But the news of
this price went viral and reached the ears of the Sultan.
Being
curious, the Sultan summoned him and asked "What does this claim
mean?". Ayaz replied, "“If you set your crown on my head and offer me a
seat on your throne and place seven countries under my command make me
the master of the whole world, I will still never fall into error about
myself and will never forget that I am your slave”. "
Hearing
this, the Sultan paid the price, with the intent to test the claim.
Buying Ayaz for a hundred thousand dirhams, he brought him to the palace
and ordered someone to start lashing him. Ayaz bore it silently. Upon
being asked why he doesn't plead for mercy, or at least ask why he is
being flogged, Ayaz replied "My master knows how best to treat me".
Impressed, the Sultan stopped the punishment and asked "What would you
like to eat, and what clothes would you like to wear?". Ayaz replied
"Whatever my master sees fit to provide me with !" Over a period of
time, this attitude endeared him to the Sultan, but Ayaz kept outdoing
himself in his love and devotion.
Once the king and all
the courtiers were camping outdoors and a bird (huma) passed over them.
Everyone ran to approach the bird, as their superstition was that
whoever the huma casts a shadow on, will become the next king. Only Ayaz
remained by the side of the king, saying "My place is under the shadow
of my king."
The Sultan was really pleased with Ayaz
and placed him on the throne putting a crown on his head:“I give you
sovereignty. The army is yours. You should now behave like a king”.
Ayaaz started weeping for what the king has done. The courtiers were
aghast: “You just became a king, what is all this weeping for? Ayaaz
replied: “ Don't you realize that the king is casting me out, far from
himself? Even if he would give me the kingdom of the world, I would not
be absent from his side for a single moment. My kingdom lies in being in
his company”.
This, and many other stories indicate that Ayaz truly knew servitude. And perhaps we can learn from him.
