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
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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
Amir Ibn Fuhayra (ra): The Guide on the Hijrah | The Firsts
Amir Ibn Fuhayra (ra) was the one man who was with the Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr (ra) throughout the Hijrah, and was lifted to the heavens while the enemy looked on.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu, my dear brothers and sisters. Welcome back to the first short where we are covering the lives of some of the companions who don't have much written about them, but who offered a tremendous contribution towards the deen that we were blessed to inherit. Now we're getting to the last few episodes inshaAllah ta'ala of season one and then season two bi'ithnillah ta'ala. We will pick up with the long biographies inshaAllah ta'ala, starting with the ansar of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, those that received the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam in Madinah. So as we're kind of now leaning towards that direction of the hijrah and what precedes the hijrah as we have been doing when speaking about the companions from Abyssinia, we want to cover inshaAllah ta'ala just a few more people and some of them honestly could have been full episodes. Some of them could have been episode 51, 52 in the beginning of when we transitioned to the shorts. But may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala be pleased with them all. They are phenomenal individuals and people we have much to benefit from. When you think about a front seat of history and of some of the most consequential events in Islam, I can't think of many people that had a better view than Amr ibn Fuhayrah radiya Allah ta'ala anhu who we are speaking about today. Now Amr ibn Fuhayrah radiya Allah ta'ala anhu, he was someone who was born into slavery and who was of Abyssinian descent. So his whole life was one of being enslaved and he was particularly enslaved to a man by the name of Tufail ibn Abdullah al-Azdi. Now Tufail was the stepson of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiya Allah ta'ala anhu. So the way that this happens is that Abu Bakr radiya Allah ta'ala anhu married a woman by the name of Umrumman radiya Allah ta'ala anhu and she is the mother of Aisha radiya Allah ta'ala anhu. Now when Abu Bakr married Umrumman she was a widow at that point and Tufail was the son
of Umrumman from her previous husband. So Tufail is the stepson of Abu Bakr radiya Allah ta'ala anhu as well as of course the half brother of Aisha radiya Allah ta'ala anhu and that they share the same mother. So when Abu Bakr radiya Allah ta'ala anhu accepts Islam, we know that Abu Bakr radiya Allah ta'ala anhu frees many of those who were enslaved particularly those who were being tortured for being Muslim. It was already a habit of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiya Allah ta'ala anhu to free people from captivity, but now particularly the righteous Muslim slaves that were being tortured by their captors. And in the case of Amr ibn Fuhayrah radiya Allah ta'ala anhu, Amr ibn Fuhayrah was someone who embraced Islam very early on as a slave. He accepted Islam before Dar al-Arqam, so he's one of the first of the first. As we said, those are the earliest of the Muslims. And when he embraced Islam, Amr ibn Fuhayrah radiya Allah ta'ala anhu was tortured in the worst of ways. And what is written about him is literally that there is not a torture tactic except that they experimented on Amr ibn Fuhayrah radiya Allah ta'ala anhu with one of those torture tactics. And so they tried the hot coal, burning hot coal and letting it drip down his back, which is a form of torture that is famously attributed to Khabbab radiya Allah ta'ala anhu, who we know Abu Bakr radiya Allah ta'ala anhu freed. He was tried with sleep deprivation, dehydration, was not allowed food for several days, was dragged through the streets, was chained and beaten by random people. So the torture tactics were plentiful against him and it's not actually spelled out who was the one who tortured him. So whether it was Tufail who would not become Muslim until much later on, or if it was just some people from the tribe and of course, people of this status were fair game for the
elites of Mecca to try them in multiple ways and in multiple contexts. So the point is, is that he's being tortured in multiple ways and Abu Bakr radiya Allah ta'ala anhu sees him and he purchases his freedom. And when he frees him, as was common in that society, Amir radiya Allah ta'ala anhu still is someone who is loyal to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiya Allah ta'ala anhu, even though he is not technically enslaved by him, right? He's not a slave of Abu Bakr radiya Allah ta'ala anhu, but his loyalty is forever to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiya Allah ta'ala anhu. And he wants to maintain closeness to him and who would not want to maintain closeness to him, especially now as a Muslim, beyond just his character, his excellent character, knowing who he is and knowing his status with the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and his preceding everyone in Islam, he wants to be close to him. And so he becomes a shepherd of Abu Bakr radiya Allah ta'ala anhu. So he's freed by Abu Bakr radiya Allah ta'ala anhu because he believed in he was being tortured. And then he becomes a shepherd of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiya Allah ta'ala anhu, gaining a closeness to him, which is of course, a form of rizq, a form of sustenance from Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Now when do we see his most pivotal role? It's in the hijrah of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiya Allah ta'ala anhu. We know that when the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and Abu Bakr radiya Allah ta'ala anhu went to Ghar Thawr, when they went to the cave, Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions to us that situation and how it was just the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and Abu Bakr radiya Allah ta'ala anhu in that cave for three days and three nights. And the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam comforting Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiya Allah ta'ala anhu saying to him, La tahsan, do not be afraid, inna Allah ma'ana, Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is with us. What do you say of two for whom Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is the third? So in that cave, it was just the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiya Allah ta'ala anhu.
We are familiar with the role that Asma' bint Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with her, and Abdullah bin Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, played. And that Asma' radiya Allah ta'ala anhu was responsible for bringing the goods to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, their food and their drink to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and Abu Bakr radiya Allah ta'ala anhu. And Abdullah was scouting Mecca and trying to convey the news of what was happening to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and to Abu Bakr radiya Allah ta'ala anhu. When it comes to Amr ibn Fuhayrah radiya Allah ta'ala anhu, he is never distant from the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and Abu Bakr radiya Allah ta'ala anhu throughout this journey. In fact, it was Amr radiya Allah ta'ala anhu who would bring sheep to them on a daily basis. And what he would do with those sheep is that, of course, he was a shepherd to those sheep. What he would do with those sheep is that he would use them to cover the tracks of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and Abu Bakr radiya Allah ta'ala anhu, as well as taking them to the Messenger alayhi Salatu wasalam and Abu Bakr so that they could benefit from those sheep. So he is bringing the sheep to that cave on a daily basis at a particular time where he would not be noticed and he is covering their tracks as well as providing for them. And then it was after the three day period had come to an end that it was Amr radiya Allah ta'ala anhu who comes to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and Abu Bakr radiya Allah ta'ala anhu with two camels for them to ride. And of course, he himself would be riding. And then the three of them partake in the journey of the hijrah. So SubhanAllah, you know, imagine being the one person who is with the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and Abu Bakr radiya Allah ta'ala anhu on that journey of the hijrah. That is this man who will be their guide and who will travel alongside with them and eventually enter into Medina with the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and with Abu Bakr radiya Allah ta'ala anhu. So he is riding with the Messenger and with Abu Bakr. And as we know, the famous incident where Suraqa radiya Allah ta'ala anhu goes to find
the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam because there's a bounty on his head. Now Suraqa is trying to attack the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. He notices that he is being stopped by divine forces, right? So his riding animal is sinking into the ground that's throwing him off. He's not able to get to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam to harm him. And eventually Suraqa ibn Malik gets to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and instead of trying to kill the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam so that he can attain the bounty of this world from the people of Mecca, he's ready to embrace the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam so that he can attain the bounty from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala in the hereafter. So Suraqa comes to him and Suraqa wants to instead be counted amongst the believers and Suraqa asks the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam for a note of his amnesty, of his forgiveness and who was the one who actually wrote that note? It was Amr ibn Fuhayrah. So again, just think about the view of history here. Amr radiya Allah ta'ala anhu writes at the instruction of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam a note guaranteeing the forgiveness, the amnesty, the protection of Suraqa ibn Malik radiya Allah ta'ala anhu and the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam famously tells Suraqa how will it be, oh Suraqa, when you are holding the two gold bracelets of Kisra in Persia. So the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam of course prophesizes a great moment of victory and glory for Suraqa even in the midst of that journey and it was Amr ibn Fuhayrah who wrote that note of amnesty for him at the direction of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. Once they enter into Medina, Amr ibn Fuhayrah attains another blessing of being from the veterans of Badr. So he fought in Badr alongside Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiya Allah ta'ala anhu. And then on the day of Uhud, he was amongst those who stood firm and did not flee from the battlefield of Uhud. So he fought on the day of Uhud as well. So he is someone who was persecuted for his Islam in Mecca severely. He is someone who made the hijrah and in a very special way was with the Prophet Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam and Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiya Allah ta'ala anhu which was very dangerous but at the same time how rewarding that is. He is amongst those who fought in the battle of Badr and attains the status of being from the veterans of Badr. He is amongst those that fought bravely on the day of Uhud and those whom Allah Subhanu Wa Ta'ala was pleased with. So how does he pass away? After Uhud, the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam about three or four months after was requested to send missionaries to Najd to teach them the deen. So some people came to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and they asked the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam for him to send some of the scholars of the sahaba, some of the literate ones, the readers, the reciters amongst the sahaba so that they could come and they could teach their people the Quran. So Amir radiAllahu ta'ala anhu being someone who was literate and being someone who understood the Quran and was considered amongst the best of the companions in this regard was of those that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam sends after Uhud. Now this is of course referring to Bitr Ma'una where the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam sends this group of people and as they get there the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is betrayed and those who he sends are killed. So I want you to imagine what makes this so tragic before we get to the specific circumstances of Amir's death is that these were considered amongst the best of who the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam had left with him. This is after the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam had lost some of his best in Uhud, Hamza and Mus'ab and others that we've spoken about, Abdullah bin Jahsh may Allah be pleased with them all. And the amount of casualties from this incident of khyana, from this incident of betrayal was almost the same amount of casualties as Uhud. So imagine how devastating that is, right? You're already facing a situation where you have the losses from Uhud that you've incurred
and every household in Medina was struck. And of course the Muslims as a whole lost some of their best. And now only four months later in an incident where you would think there's another frontier of Islam that is opening, instead you have betrayal and you have the murder of another group of some of the most righteous Muslims and companions of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. So Amir was one of those who was killed in this incident and he was only 40 years old when this happened. Now SubhanAllah in his death there's something very specific that happens. The man who killed him was a man by the name of Jabbar ibn Salma radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu and I say that for a reason, Jabbar ibn Salma, he took his sword and he thrust his sword through the body of Amir. So much so that the sword went directly through his body and he saw the sword come out from his back. So he stuck the sword right through Amir. And while he is killing Amir, Amir looks up and he smiles and he says, Fustu Allah, Fustu Allah. I have succeeded by Allah, I have succeeded by Allah. You imagine, you know, for these people that don't understand, you know, what this religion truly is and the dedication that these people have and he's witnessing, Jabbar ibn Salma is witnessing before his eyes the man who he is killing and he's looking up to the skies and he's saying, Fustu Allah, I have succeeded by Allah while his sword is literally through his body. So Jabbar is looking at him while this is happening and his last words are, I have succeeded by Allah. And when he pulls his sword out, there's some narrations and there's no authentic Sanna to this, no particular authentic chain, but that, you know, his body was also not found that he looked up and he saw that his body was lifted to the heavens and it was said that the angels took his body.
And so his body was not even found to, you know, to properly carry out the rituals afterwards. So Jabbar, you know, sees this man that he just killed and recognizes this divine miracle, this you know, this miracle that is happening with Amir radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu. And he goes to the Muslims after having killed Amir ibn Fuhayrah and he says, what did he mean when he said, Fustu Allah, I have succeeded by Allah. He said, I saw in him, in his eyes and in what transpired when I killed him, things that, you know, are not natural. What did he mean by that? And it was that incident that caused him to become Muslim. So SubhanAllah, the hadith of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam where Allah laughs at two men, you know, one who killed the other and they both meet in Jannah, right? I mean, this is one of those incidents that the scholars will mention as a supplement to that hadith, a very real life manifestation, just like we think of Wahshi having thrown the spear through the body of Hamza radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu and Wahshi radiAllahu Anhu having become Muslim. Here you have another incident where Jabbar ibn Salma stabs, you know, Amir ibn Fuhayrah radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu and he sees this before his eyes. And so the scholars say how beautiful that in the death of Amir ibn Fuhayrah, you have Shahada and Da'wah. His last act in this earth was to look up to the heavens and to receive the blessing of being a Shaheed after having survived Hijrah, Badr and Uhud and before that being from the Muhajireen who were tortured. And his last act is an act of Da'wah where the man who killed him was so inspired by his murder, by his martyrdom that he goes on to become a Muslim himself because of the conviction, the yaqeen, truly the certainty that he witnessed in the eyes and in the voice of Amir ibn Fuhayrah radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu. And of course, who would not after being this close to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam
and to As-Siddiq radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu, the truthful one, Abu Bakr radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu. And so we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to be pleased with Amir ibn Fuhayrah radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to gather us with him and with our beloved Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam and with his companion on the Hijrah, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiAllahu alayhi wa sallam and his family and companions and those that follow. Allahuma Ameen, JazakumAllahu Khayran, see you all next time. InshaAllah. Wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuhu.
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