> Short Stories from the Lives of the Salaf

[IbnAbdulHakim]

Short Stories from the Lives of the Salaf

first source: Sahaba.net

[IbnAbdulHakim]

Thief

Abu Huraira said:
Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) deputed me to keep Sadaqat (Al-Fitr) of Ramadan. An individual came and started taking handfuls of the foodstuff (of the Sadaqa) stealthily. I took hold of him and said, "By Allah, I will take you to Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him)." He said, "I am needy and have many dependents, and I am in great need." I released him..

In the morning the prophet (peace be upon him) asked me, "What did your prisoner do yesterday?" I said, "O Allah's Apostle ! The person complained of being needy and of having many dependents, so, I pitied him and let him go."

The prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Indeed, he told you a lie and he will be coming again."

I believed that he would show up again as Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) had told me that he would return. So, I waited for him watchfully. When he (showed up and) started stealing handfuls of foodstuff, I caught hold of him again and said, "I will definitely take you to Allah's Apostle(peace be upon him) . He said, "Leave me, for I am very needy and have many dependents. I promise I will not come back again." I pitied him and let him go.

In the morning the prophet (peace be upon him) asked me, "What did your prisoner do." I replied, "O Allah's Apostle! He complained of his great need and of too many dependents, so I took pity on him and set him free."

The prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Verily, he told you a lie and he will return."

I waited for him attentively for the third time, and when he (came and) started stealing handfuls of the foodstuff, I caught hold of him and said, "I will surely take you to Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) as it is the third time you promise not to return, yet you break your promise and come." He said, "(Forgive me and) I will teach you some words with which Allah will benefit you." I asked, "What are they?" He replied, "Whenever you go to bed, recite Ayat-al-Kursi: 'Allahu la ilaha illa huwa-l-Haiy-ul Qaiyum' (Allah, there is none worthy of worship but He, the Ever Living the One Who sustains and protects all that exists.) [Surah Al Baqarah Ayah 255 (Ayat-ul-Kursi) ] till you finish the whole verse. If you do so Allah will appoint a guard for you who will stay with you and no satan will come near you till morning." So, I released him.


In the morning, the prophet (peace be upon him) asked, "What did your prisoner do yesterday?" I replied, "He claimed that he would teach me some words by which Allah will benefit me, so I let him go."

The prophet (peace be upon him) asked, "What are they?" I replied, "He said to me, 'Whenever you go to bed, recite Ayat-al-Kursi from the beginning to the end "Allahu la ilaha illa huwa-lHaiy-ul-Qaiyum".' He further said to me, 'If you do so, Allah will appoint a guard for you who will stay with you, and no satan will come near you till morning.'

(Abu Huraira (R.A.) or another sub-narrator) added that they (the companions) were very keen to do good deeds. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "He really spoke the truth, although he is an absolute liar. Do you know whom you were talking to, these three nights, O Abu Huraira?" Abu Huraira said, "No." He said,

"It was Satan."


Narrated by ABu Huraira. [Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume 3, Book 38, Number 505]

[IbnAbdulHakim]

Would anybody Entertain him?

A Sahabi came to the Prophet and complained of hunger and distress. Just then, the Prophet had nothing in hand, or in his home to feed him. He asked the Sahabah:

"Would anybody entertain him as a guest tonight on my behalf?..."

One of the Ansar said: "0, Prophet of Allah, I will do that."

The Ansari took the person to his house and instructed his wife:

"Look here, this man is a guest of the Prophet. We will entertain him as best as we can, and won't spare anything in doing so."

The wife replied:

"By Allah! I have got no food in the house, except a very little?something just enough for the children."

The Ansari said:

"You lull the children to sleep without feeding them, while I sit with the guest over the meager meal. When we start eating, put out the lamp pretending to set it right, so that the guest may not become aware of my not sharing the meal with him."

The scheme worked out nicely, and the whole family, including the children, stayed hungry to enable the guest to eat to his fill. It was over this incident that Allah revealed the verse:



"They prefer others above themselves, even though poverty become their lot (LIX: 9)."

[IbnAbdulHakim]

''The One...The One!!''

Bilal was an Abyssinian from the black race. His destiny made him a slave of some people of the tribe of Jum?ah in Makkah, where his mother was one of their slave girls. He led the life of a slave whose bleak days were alike and who had no right over his day and no hope for his tomorrow. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and the Holy religion of Islam made this weak Abyssinian slave a teacher to all humanity in the art of faith and defending it with whatever it takes..

When Bilal?s owners found out he had embraced the religion of Islam, they took him out in the midday heat when the desert sand turned into burning hell. They would throw him naked on its scorching rocks and bring a burning hot rock, which took several men to lift from its place, and throw it onto his body and chest. This savage torture was repeated every day until the hearts of some of his executioners took pity on him. Finally, they agreed to set him free on condition that he would speak well of their gods, even with only one word that would allow them to keep their pride so that the tribe of Quraish would not say they had been defeated and humiliated by the resistance of their slave. But even this one word, which he could pretend to eject from his heart and with it buy his life and soul without losing his faith or abandoning his conviction, Bilal refused to say. Indeed, he refused to say it and began to repeat his lasting chant instead: "The One...The One!" (Allah is the One and Only God). His torturers shouted at him, imploring him, "Mention the name of Al-Lat and Al-'Uzza." But he answered, "The One?The One." They said to him, "Say as we say." But he answered them with remarkable mockery and sarcasm, "Indeed my tongue is not good at that."

So Bilal remained in the melting heat and under the weight of the heavy rock, and by sunset they raised him up and put a rope around his neck. Then they ordered their boys to take him around the hills and streets of Makkah. Bilal's tongue did not mention anything other than his holy chant, "The One...The One." When the night overtook them, they began bargaining with him, "Tomorrow, speak well of our gods, say, `My lord is Al-Lat and Al `Uzza,' and we'll leave you alone. We are tired of torturing you as if we are the tortured ones." But he shook his head and said, "The One...The One." So, Umayah Ibn Khalaf, his master, kicked him and exploded with exasperating fury, and shouted, "What bad luck has thrown you upon us, O slave of evil? By Al-Lat and Al-'Uzza, I'll make you an example for slaves and masters." But Bilal answered with the holy greatness and certainty of a believer, "The One...The One." And he who was assigned to play the role of a sympathizer returned to talking and bargaining. He said "Take it easy, Umayah. By Al-Lat, he will not be tortured again. Bilal is one of us and his mother is our slave girl. He will not be pleased to talk about and ridicule us because of his Islam." But Bilal gazed at their lying cunning faces, and his mouth slackened like the light of dawn. He said with a calmness that shook them violently, "The One...The One."

It was the next day and midday approached. Bilal was taken to the sun-baked ground. He was patient, brave, firm, and expecting the reward in the Hereafter. Abu Bakr Al-Seddeeq went to them while they were torturing him and shouted at them, "Are you killing a man because he says, `Allah is my Lord?" Then he shouted at Umayah lbn khalaf, "Take more than his price and set him free." It was as if Umayah were drowning and had caught a lifeboat. It was to his liking and he was very much pleased when he heard Abu Bakr offering the price of Bilal?s freedom, since they had despaired of crushing him. And since they were merchants, they realized that selling him was more profitable to them than killing him. They sold him to Abu Bakr, and he emancipated him immediately. Bilal took his place among free men. When Al- Seddeeq put his arm round Bilal, rushing with him to freedom, Umayah said to him, "Take him, for by Al-Lat and Al-' Uzza if you had refused to buy him except for one ounce of gold, I would have sold him to you." Abu Bakr realized the bitterness and disappointment hidden in these words. It was appropriate not to answer, but because they violated the dignity of this man who had become his brother and his equal, he answered Umayah saying, "By Allah, if you had refused to sell him except for a hundred ounces, I would have paid it." He departed with his companion to the Messenger of Allah, giving him news of his liberation, and there was a great celebration.

Source: "Men Around the Messenger(pbuh)." By Khalid Muhammad Khalid.

[IbnAbdulHakim]

"O Allah! Guide Abu Huraira's mother"

Abu Huraira had a wonderful attitude with the Prophet, peace be upon him. His mother was not a Muslim, and she refused to embrace Islam. However, he never stopped asking her to follow Allah. Each time he went to talk to her about Islam, she replied very harshly.
So once when he went to her, she said very bad things about the Prophet, peace be upon him, and insulted him. He went to the Prophet, peace be upon him, crying. The Prophet, pbuh, asked him what was wrong.

?My mother, Allah's messenger, refuses Islam. And I asked her today to embrace Islam, and she said words about you which I hate. So pray to Allah, Allah's messenger, to guide my mother.? ...

The Prophet pbuh raised his hands to the sky and said: "O Allah! Guide Abu Huraira?s mother. O Allah! Guide Abu Huraira?s mother!?

He said: "I left the Prophet pbuh, and returned to my home while I was cheerful by his invocation, until I reached home. My mother heard my footsteps. Before I knocked on the door, she said: ?Abu huraira, stay in your place? I was afraid, so I stopped. So she opened the door and said: ?Abu Huraira. There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.?

So I returned to the Prophet, crying again. I said "rejoice Allah's messenger! Allah has accepted for your prayer!?

The Prophet pbuh sat down, thanking Allah. So when Abu Huraira found that the Prophet?s prayers are being accepted, he asked him for another prayer!

So he asked the Prophet pbuh, peace be upon him, to pray for him and his mother, that all believers love them and that they love all believers.

So the Prophet pbuh raised his hands to the sky and said: "O Allah! Make the believers love this servant, and make him love the believers".

Abu huraira said: "So every believer who heard about me, even if he didn?t meet me until the Day of Judgment, loved me".


Moral: If we don't love Abu Huraira, we're in trouble.

Source: The Beloved Companions: Abu Huraira by Amr Khaled
Translated by the www.daralislamlive.com team