The Firsts (Sahaba Stories) | The Forerunners of Islam
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Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Khawla Bint Hakim & Uthman Ibn Madhun: The Righteous Couple | The Firsts
52
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Al-Shifa bint Abdullah (ra): The Healer and Scholar | The Firsts Shorts
58
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Shurahbil Ibn Hasana (ra): The Scribe and Commander | The Firsts Shorts
125
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Khalid ibn al-Walid (ra): The Legendary Military General | The Firsts
126
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Amr ibn al-As (ra): His Wicked Father and “Better” Brother | The Firsts
146
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Tulayha ibn Khuwaylid (ra): From False Prophet to Shaheed | The Firsts
147
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Zayd ibn al-Khattab (ra): The Quiet Brother of Omar (ra) | The Firsts
Abu Ahmad Abd Ibn Jahsh (ra): The Other Blind Companion | The Firsts Shorts
Abu Ahmad Abd Ibn Jahsh (ra) was a companion who roamed the valleys of Makkah without being able to see around him, but the truth penetrated his heart and his home deeply.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Dear brothers and sisters, welcome back to the first shorts where we are looking into the biographies of some of the early Muslims about whom we don't have much information, but we have many life lessons to learn. And today we're covering someone who there is quite a bit about him and his background that we can benefit from. And inshallah ta'ala we'll bring a few things together. His name is Abdullah ibn Jahsh radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. Now to give a little bit of background, Abdullah ibn Jahsh radiAllahu anhu, he falls into the category of the last two companions that we covered, right? So he's very similar as a commander of an army to Utbah ibn Ghazwan radiAllahu ta'ala anhu and also Shurahbir radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. However, he's also related to the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam in several ways. So we look at him and he is an early convert and someone who we know converted at the hands of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, which of course is to the credit of Abu Bakr radiAllahu ta'ala anhu to have yet another noble companion that we will study bi-idhnillahi ta'ala who embraced Islam at his hands. Hence, all of the credits of his work, of his contribution is also part of that of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. Now Abdullah ibn Jahsh radiAllahu ta'ala anhu is the son of a man by the name of Jahsh ibn Riyab al-Asadi and he is a halif, one who gave his allegiance to Bani Abd al-Shams and his mother is Umayma bint Abdul Muttalib. We've mentioned her already a couple of times. She is the maternal aunt of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam, Umayma bint Abdul Muttalib and all of her children would become Muslim. Okay, all of her children would become Muslim. Most of the biographers say that she passed away before that happened. So we look at her children. We spoke about Hamna bint Jahsh radiAllahu ta'ala anhu
who was the widow of Mus'ab ibn Umayr radiAllahu anhu. So that last long episode that we covered Mus'ab, we spoke about the weeping and the wailing of Hamna radiAllahu ta'ala anhu and how she was a cousin of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam We know about Zaynab bint Jahsh radiAllahu ta'ala anhu because eventually of course she will become a wife of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam. So you have the brother here of Zaynab and Hamna. Also his brother Ubaidullah bin Jahsh who we have already spoken about as being the husband of Um Habibah radiAllahu ta'ala anhu and who, you know, some of the sources suggest he may have died after leaving Islam in Abyssinia. But of course, as we spoke about in the seerah of Um Habibah radiAllahu anhu we can't fully establish that. However, Ubaidullah bin Jahsh was one of those people who embraced monotheism before the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam started to preach Islam. So he was unique in that sense. And maybe that gives you some background into the way that the ideas of Islam are already penetrating the household of Ubaidullah bin Jahsh radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. And there's one more brother who we will speak about next time inshAllah ta'ala who is really, you know, subhanAllah, a person who has a remarkable story. And his name is Abd bin Jahsh also known as Abu Ahmed Abd bin Jahsh radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. So we'll speak about him next time inshAllah ta'ala. But right now let's focus on Abdullah bin Jahsh radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. This is a man who, as he embraced Islam very early on alongside Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiAllahu ta'ala anhu and joined Dar al-Arqam, made the second migration to Abyssinia. So he's part of the group that made the second hijrah to Abyssinia. And he is also one of those that migrated to Medina afterwards. So he is one of those people who is distinguished by being from the people of the two hijrahs. One of the things that we have about him
and one of the famous incidents that we have about him is that he is known as the first person to be known as Amir al-Mu'mineen, the commander of the believers or an Amir in Islam. Now, of course, we know that Amir al-Mu'mineen as a title and as an office belongs to Umar bin Khattab radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. But where does this narration come from? When Abdullah bin Jahsh radiAllahu ta'ala anhu came to Medina, the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam dispatched him in a very particular raid. And when he dispatched him in that raid, the man who narrates this famous incident is none other than Sa'd bin Abi Waqas radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. If you notice, is always around other people that were commanders, that were warriors in that time. So Sa'd radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, he says, Ba'athana RasoolAllahi salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam sent us in one of these Sariyas, in one of these raids, Wa qala la aba'athanna AAalaykum rajulan asbarakum AAalal ju'i walAAatish that I'm going to send a person to be in charge of you that is the most patient with hunger and thirst. Meaning someone who is very patient, who is of course very capable, and someone who can lead you. Fa ba'atha AAalayna Abdullah bin Jahsh radiAllahu ta'ala anhu So the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam appointed Abdullah bin Jahsh to be our commander, our leader. Fa kana awwalu ameerun fil Islam And so he was the first ameer in Islam. So this is the words, or these are the words of Sa'd bin Abi Waqas radiAllahu ta'ala anhu that Abdullah bin Jahsh is the first ameer, the first commander in Islam as a result of this raid. However, this raid against Quraysh actually went wrong. It is a very famous raid known as the Nakhla raid. Essentially what you find is that the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam used to dispatch before the Battle of Badr, these raids to disrupt the caravans of the people of Mecca that were going to primarily Ash-Sham, that were going to primarily greater Syria. And they were taking the stolen goods of the Muslims
from Mecca and they were trading them in Ash-Sham. So this was one of the strategies of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. And Rasulullah salAllahu alayhi wa sallam dispatches him and a small group of people in this raid, which is known as the Nakhla raid. And he gives him a letter with instructions and he tells him to wait to read that letter. So Abdullah goes to that area of a Nakhla, which is between Mecca and Al-Taif. And the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam tells him to observe what Quraysh is doing and to try to disrupt, but at the same time, not to attack them, not to actually fight with them, because this was in the month of Rajab and Rajab is a sacred month. And because Rajab is a sacred month, this was not a time of fighting. And even though the Meccans did not honor anything, the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam still honored what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala had honored. So Abdullah ibn Jahsh is there in a Nakhla and they are observing the caravan. And what ends up happening is that, fighting breaks out anyway, and they end up attacking those merchants, even though it was the month of Rajab. So when they come back to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam they don't just have the merchandise, but they have also one person who was killed on the other side and two that were captured. And when Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam initially, he disproved that, or disapproved of what Abdullah had done. And he said, wallahi ma amartukum bil qital He said, I swear by Allah, I did not command you to actually fight them, but instead to get their news and to disrupt their caravans. This was not a time that you were supposed to actually attack them. So if you are Abdullah ibn Jahsh salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, you're thinking to yourself that you're done, right? You know, you earned the anger or the disapproval of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam in this regard. And the people in Mecca are mocking the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam because they're saying that, look, you know, he violated one of the sacred months
and he ordered his people to attack ours. And this is not something that we do. Now realize Ahlul Mecca, the people of Mecca, they would play with the actual calendar, right? They'd switch sacred months around so that they could justify fighting at certain times. They were not a people who honored much and they had already violated many rules at the time. But the fact that they were trying to use this to try to undermine the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam and the Muslims and to suggest that there was something unethical about them was very low of them. So anyway, Abdullah ibn Jahsh salAllahu alayhi wa sallam was, you know, was very saddened, obviously over what had happened and was waiting for something from the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam that would be in his favor. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala revealed Quran in his favor in that regard. Yas'aluna ka'anash shahri alharam qitalan fee They ask you, oh Rasulullah, about the sacred months and fighting within the sacred months. Qul qitalun feehi kabir That you should say that fighting within the sacred months is a great transgression, but at the same time, what does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala go on to say? Wasaddun an sabili Allah wa kufrun bihi wal masjidil haram wa akhraju ahlihi minhu akbaru inda Allah But at the same time, a greater transgression with Allah is when you prevent people from following the way of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and you force them to disbelieve in him and you prevent access to the sacred masjid and you drive out the inhabitants of the sacred masjid. wal fitnatu akbaru minal qatil And barely fitna is worse. Akbaru minal qatil is worse than, qatil is worse than killing in this regard. So subhanAllah, what this verse did is it actually absolved Abdullah bin Jahsh radiAllahu ta'ala anhu and those Muslims to say that, you people in Mecca do not have the right to claim any type of moral victory here, right? What happened here is natural.
They had a right and the burden is not upon them. The burden is upon you. Those of you that drove people out of Mecca, drove people out of al-ardh al-haram, out of the sacred land. And now you're trying to use the sacred months as an excuse so that you could continue to trade stolen goods, to take the stolen goods from people that you persecuted and drove out of their homes and sell it elsewhere. So Allah subhanAllah ta'ala by revealing this ayah actually absolves Abdullah bin Jahsh radiAllahu ta'ala anhu because the greater burden is not on him and not on the Muslims. Abdullah bin Jahsh radiAllahu ta'ala anhu continues. He fights in the battle of Badr and he fights very bravely. So he attains the rank of being one of the veterans of Badr. And then comes the moment of Abdullah bin Jahsh, which is the day of Uhud. And subhanAllah, you know, even having myself the blessing of having visited Uhud many times, I never had come across this narration before of Abdullah bin Jahsh radiAllahu ta'ala anhu in the battle of Uhud, but it's a very beautiful and, you know, a very moving narration. And it's also from Sa'd bin Abi Waqas radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. Sa'd bin Abi Waqas radiAllahu ta'ala anhu says, before the battle of Uhud started, and may Allah be pleased with Sa'd. I mean, subhanAllah, he's involved in all of these stories. He says, before the battle of Uhud started, Abdullah bin Jahsh said to me, ala tad'u Allah, will you not make dua to Allah subhanAllah ta'ala? So I raised my hands. And so you have this incident where you have Sa'd radiAllahu anhu raising his hands and you have next to him Abdullah bin Jahsh. So, you know, put yourself in the room, if you will. With Sa'd radiAllahu anhu raising his hand and Abdullah bin Jahsh radiAllahu ta'ala anhu raising his hands with him so that he could make dua. He said, fada'utu, so I made dua to Allah subhanAllah ta'ala that Allah would send me a strong opponent
that I would kill and I would be killed by, or I would be killed by. And that through that Allah subhanAllah ta'ala would grant me martyrdom. So Allah subhanAllah ta'ala would be pleased with me. I mean, so he's asking Allah subhanAllah ta'ala for, you know, the opportunity to fight bravely and to attain martyrdom at the same time. So he said at the end of that, when I made that dua, Abdullah said ameen to my dua and then he continued and he made dua for something similar, but he added that my body would be left in such a way that, idha laqeetu ka ghadan, he's talking to Allah subhanAllah ta'ala. Abdullah bin Jahsh is talking to Allah and Sa'd is listening to his dua and they're both still raising their hands. So he said, idha laqeetu ka ghadan, that if I find you tomorrow, oh Allah, when I meet you, oh Allah, you would ask me in what cause were you mutilated? And I would say, aqoolu feeka wa fee rasoolika ya rabb. I would say to you, oh Allah, that I was mutilated. I was killed and mutilated in such a way for your sake and for your messenger, oh Allah. Fataqoolu li, and you would say to me, oh Allah, sadaqt, you are truthful. So subhanAllah, he's making dua to Allah subhanAllah ta'ala that, oh Allah, let me also be granted shahada and be left in such a way that when I'm raised in front of you on the day of judgment, you say to me, for what cause did this happen to you? And I would say for you, oh Allah, for your messenger, oh Allah, and you would say to me, sadaqt, you've told the truth. Think about the sincerity that it takes for you to make a dua like that with Allah subhanAllah ta'ala, how much confidence he had in his dua. And we know the position of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas radiAllahu anhu, his dua, if you go back and you watch the lesson on Sa'd radiAllahu anhu, so he is a man of dua. Sa'd radiAllahu ta'ala anhu says, laqad kana da'watu abdullah, nijahshin khayran min da'wati. He said, clearly the dua of Sa'd radiAllahu ta'ala anhu,
I'm sorry, he said, clearly the dua of Abdullah was better than my dua. Clearly the dua of Abdullah bin Jahsh was better than my dua. Abdullah bin Jahsh radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, fought bravely in Uhud until he was killed by al-Akhnas ibn Shuraik. Al-Akhnas ibn Shuraik is the one who the scholars say, waylun li kulli humazatin lumazah, was revealed about. So he's a condemned man, a hated opponent of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. And al-Akhnas ibn Shuraik did to Abdullah bin Jahsh, similar to what was done with Hamza radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, he cut off his nose and his ears. He mutilated him to make an example out of him. And when the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam found him in the battlefield, the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam was deeply moved, was very emotional. And Rasulullah salAllahu alayhi wa sallam ordered that he be buried in the same grave as Hamza radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. Hamza, the uncle of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam and also the uncle of Abdullah bin Jahsh radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, because again, his aunt was the sister of Hamza radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. So the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam ordered that they be buried in one grave. So when you go to Uhud and you visit Hamza radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, know that buried with him in that same grave because his grave is separate from the rest is actually Abdullah bin Jahsh radiAllahu ta'ala anhu in the very same grave. He was killed in a similar way. And he had that sincere duha to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reward him for his sacrifices. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant him that martyrdom. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to visit him and to visit the martyrs of Uhud and to be joined with them and with our beloved Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam in Jannatul Firdaus. Allahumma ameen. InshaAllah ta'ala next time, we'll talk about the brother of Abdullah bin Jahsh. And then we will talk about his widow who would go on to become one of our mothers,
Zayna bin Khuzaima radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. Jazakumullah khayran. Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
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