Salaam
I found this in my inbox and thought of sharing it.
About twenty years before the start of the Prophet’s mission, that is
about
the middle of the sixth century CE, an Arab named Sinan ibn Malik
governed
the city of al-Uballah on behalf of the Persian emperor. The city,
which is
now part of Basrah, lay on the banks of the Euprates River. Sinan lived
in a
luxurious palace on the banks of the river. He had several 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 active and
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 life forever.
That day, a raiding party of Byzantine soldiers attacked the village of
ath-Thani. The guards accompanying the picnic party were overwhelmed
and
killed. All 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 was Constantinople, 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 society. In the palaces of
the
aristocracy, he saw 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 the bondage and headed
straight
for Makkah, which was a place 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 the son 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 shameful and reprehensible deeds. He immediately enquired who
Muhammad
was and where he stayed. He was told.
“(He stays) in the house of al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam. Be careful
however
that no Quraysh sees 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 to help 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 d 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 barakatallah
(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 there is 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 of darkness, they left the house of al-Arqam, their
hears
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. The
punishment 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 teaching 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 of the 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
out
repeatedly as if responding to calls of nature. His captors said to one
another “Don’t worry. Al-Laat and al-Uzza are 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 realised with a start that Suhayb was
gone. The
got horses ready and 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 Makkah weak 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 his house in Makkah where he had left the
money, and they allowed him 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 proceeded with increased determination.
When
Suhayb reached Quba, just outside Madinah where the Prophet himself
alighted
after his Hijrah, the Prophet saw him approaching. He was overjoyed 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 Jibril 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 pleasure of
God.
And God is full of kindness to His servants.”
(The Quran, Surah al-Baqarah, 2:207)
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 humour. 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 fisabilillah, 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, the orphan 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 Muslims 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 themselves and 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 no Khalifah, Suhayb was given the
responsibility and the honor of leading the Salat and of being, in
other
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 in 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.”
“No leaf falls except that He knows of it, and no rain drop forms except that He has willed it.”