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
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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
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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
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Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Zayd ibn al-Khattab (ra): The Quiet Brother of Omar (ra) | The Firsts
As’ad Ibn Zurara (ra): The First Convert of Madinah | The Firsts
As'ad Ibn Zurarar is the young chief who paved the way for the Ansar to embrace their Prophet ﷺ and became the ultimate “first” in almost every category from the people of Madinah.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. I would be blessed to meet any of you. In the name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. No aggression is due to the wrongdoers, but the righteous shall be the victor. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon Your servant and Messenger Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family and companions. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Last week we talked about the love of the Ansar, from the faith. That the love of the Ansar is from the faith. And we mentioned, of course, that Imam Bukhari, rahimahullah ta'ala, in his Sahih, actually put this as one of the first ahadith in the book of Iman before the entire kitab of Manakib al-Ansar, the virtues of the Ansar. This is a love story between a people and their Prophet, salallahu alayhi wasalam. Now, just like when we spoke about the muhajireen, there are a few ways to cover Sirah, right? So when it comes to Sirah, you can either talk about the Sirah in one linear fashion. And include the stories of multiple people with the Sirah of the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wasalam, while talking about it in order of the historical events. Or you can tell the story over and over and over and over again through the eyes of a people. And now I know, you know, alhamdulillah, I mean I can hear it in some of your voices when you talk about as-sabiqun al-awwalun. The first, from the muhajireen, you understand the distinctions of the hijrat, the abasinniya, those that made the hijrat twice, those that went to Medina, those that were the people of the safina, the people of the ship. Because you hear it over and over again, right? So it's like you're constantly approaching the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wasalam, through a different set of eyes. So the beauty of this story is that up until Ramadan, you're going to hear about the hijrat every single time, in some capacity. But through a different set of eyes, through a different pair of eyes and through a different experience. But the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wasalam, coming to Medina again and again and again and again.
Until inshallah ta'ala, not only the historical facts become solidified in your memory, but bidden allahi ta'ala, the longing and the experience becomes solidified in your heart. Now, there are two people, and they're not the only two people, but that I wish if I could have them write autobiographies. It would be these two people. Khadijah, radiya allahu ta'ala anha, without any comparison whatsoever. Imagine if Khadijah, radiya allahu ta'ala anha, could author an autobiography for us. Through her eyes. It would be incredible. So much of Islam literally rests in her lap. She saw so much of it. And bidden allahi ta'ala, one day we will hear our mother tell us those evening stories in Jannah, bidden allahi ta'ala. We'll get to hear it from her mouth, bidden allahi ta'ala. Radiya allahu ta'ala an ummina khadijah, radiya allahu ta'ala anha. And this other person, As'ad ibn zurara, radiya allahu ta'ala anha. And you'll understand why, inshallah ta'ala, by the end of this lecture. He's not someone who has an extensive biography in the books, but he's someone whose role is foundational to the establishment of Islam, not just in Medina, but in the world. Because if Islam is not established in Medina, then what does that mean for the rest of the world and for the rest of the times. And so let's talk about this man, As'ad ibn zurara, radiya allahu ta'ala anhu, Abu Umama. As'ad ibn zurara. Is anyone in here named As'ad, by the way? We got our As'ads? Where are the As'ads? No As'ads? No one? Someone has an As'ad in their WhatsApp group, though, right? I don't know an As'ad, right? So some people that are named As'ad will often get called another name by accident. What is that? As'ad. You shouldn't be too upset, because actually As'ad ibn zurara, radiya allahu ta'ala anhu, is narrated as As'ad ibn zurara as well as As'ad ibn zurara.
Obviously they mean two different things, but if your name is As'ad, then you get tired of being called As'ad sometimes. So As'ad ibn zurara, radiya allahu ta'ala anhu, is also narrated in the books as As'ad ibn zurara ibn Udas. His kunya is Abu Umama al-Ansari from Khazraj, from the sub-tribe of al-Najjar. Al-Najjar, the sub-tribe of Khazraj. I don't expect you to get all of these names down right away, but insha'Allah ta'ala, you can go back and watch the lecture and you can catch them. But he is the son of, obviously, his father named zurara. And zurara would die before Islam. So this is his father. His mother is a woman by the name of Su'ad ibn Rafi' and both of them are from the tribe of Banu Najjar. As I said, Banu Najjar is a sub-tribe of Khazraj. What were the two main tribes of the Ansar? Aus and Khazraj. Which one was bigger, Aus or Khazraj? Khazraj is significantly bigger. In fact, if you said Khazraj, referring to the people of Yathrib, it included Aus and Khazraj. Remember, they're related. Aus is the smaller tribe. And they have a severe adawah, a severe enmity between them. Most of their fathers have killed each other off in the Bu'ath Wars. So Khazraj has a lot of big sub-tribes. The biggest of them, or one of the biggest of them, is this tribe of Banu Najjar. So As'ad, may Allah be pleased with him, is from this tribe of Banu Najjar. He has two brothers, Sa'ad and Mas'ud, and two sisters, Al-Fari'ah and Al-Zaghibah. All of them became Muslim after him. So his mother, in fact, as well as all of his siblings embraced Islam. But subhanAllah, very quiet. One-liner, even in the books of Siyar.
That this person was said to have been at Uhud, this person was said to have been at Badr, and so on and so forth. But nothing really about them. So they lived very quiet lives. As'ad, may Allah be pleased with him, being the only prominent person amongst them. As we said, his father passed away before Islam. He was married to a woman by the name of Amira or Umaira bin Sahl bin Tha'labah, also from Banu Najjar. So everyone's from Banu Najjar. Everyone here is from Banu Najjar. And they have three young daughters. So As'ad is the father of three daughters. Al-Fari'ah, Habibah, and Kabshah. Al-Fari'ah, Habibah, and Kabshah. May Allah subhanAllah be pleased with them all. So who are Banu Najjar? And what is the Prophet's relationship to this particular tribe to understand the Sira in a richer way? And Sister Feryal asked me about it last week. So alhamdulillah, we get to go a little bit deeper into it inshaAllah ta'ala. What's the Prophet's, I assume, name? Don't just say Muhammad. Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul Muttalib ibn Hashim. Alright. Abdul Muttalib's actual name was what? Shaybah. Shaybah ibn Hashim. Now, Shaybah ibn Hashim, Abdul Muttalib being his nickname, Shaybah ibn Hashim, his mother was a woman by the name of Salma bint Amr. Salma bint Amr. And Salma bint Amr was from this tribe of Banu Najjar. Salma bint Amr was from this tribe of Banu Najjar. So that means that the Prophet's, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, great-grandmother is from Banu Najjar. And in fact, when Abdul Muttalib was born, his father immediately, when his mother was carrying him, went on a business trip to Ash-Sham. And he died in Ash-Sham in a very specific place.
Does anyone know where? Testing your history now. Gaza. So Hashim in Gaza dies in Gaza, what is today Gaza. And Abdul Muttalib, Shaybah, is born in Yathrib at the time. And in fact, he spends his childhood in Yathrib, before it was Medina. So Abdul Muttalib grew up at least the first seven or eight years of his life in this place, in this town of Yathrib. And so he had a special allegiance to his mother's side, to Banu Najjar. Now, this is a relationship with the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, that's going to materialize in the Hijrah. Through his maternal side. So they are technically, when he says, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, that they are my uncles, my maternal uncles. This is what the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, is referring to about Banu Najjar. So what's As'ad's story and how does he rise to prominence in this way? As'ad, radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, was not an old man, but none of the chiefs of the Ansar were. The old people all killed each other off. As'ad, radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, however, was known for his wisdom, known for his good character. Also, some of the books say that he may have been a monotheist his entire time. He didn't really get into idol worship, that's for sure. So he was not a staunch believer in idols. Whether he worshipped as a matter of ritual or not before Islam, none of that is really documented either way. So even if the books mention in an unsourced way that he was a monotheist, the point is he doesn't really have a staunch connection to the religion of his forefathers, and in fact the ways of their forefathers. Remember, people of Yathrib have the opposite psychology of the people of Mecca. They're exhausted from the ways of their forefathers. So As'ad, radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, was a person who also, on behalf of his people,
dealt significantly with the Jewish tribes that had settled in Yathrib. And he keeps on hearing them talking about a prophet that is to come. So he's familiar with what those Jewish tribes that have settled in Medina are waiting for. He doesn't have a particular strong attachment to idol worship or the idols of his time, or the pagan ways of his time. And he rises to a place of great respectability at a very young age because of his mannerisms. Mild mannerisms, good character, not hot-headed, looking for peace and reconciliation. He also is strategically placed in the making of what would eventually be peace amongst the people. His cousin from his mom's side is Sa'ad ibn Mu'adh, radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, from the other tribe. So he has a maternal connection to Sa'ad ibn Mu'adh from Al-Aus. So the makings of a peace treaty through the prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, are really already coming into being through this man, through the very existence of this man. Now, when does he become appointed the chief of Banu Najjar? About ten years after B'itha, ten years after the prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, receives revelation. So this would have been 620. The year 620, Sa'ad, I'm sorry, As'ad, radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, becomes the chief of his tribe. This entails him now to officially speak on behalf of one of the largest sub-tribes of Khazraj, and by extension, really become the most respectable amongst Khazraj period. So really, a notable chief amongst Yathrib in general. But again, a notable chief there is not the same as a notable chief in Mecca. But look how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sets the scene. As'ad, obviously now, has to represent his people on the days of Hajj and the festivals and in all of the important meetings.
And you know how old he was? By extension, so there isn't an actual birth date, but by extension of measuring him as the youngest of the people at Bay'at al-Aqaba, he's probably about 18, 19, 20 years old max. He's a young, young, young man. Let's take the oldest, let's say he's 20 years old, alright? 19, 20 years old. But he's the chief of his people. He's respected, and this is obviously not the same as the people of Mecca. And what would happen is that often, the leaders of Mecca, the elders of Mecca, were in business with some of these people in Yathrib, and they would also solve some of their disputes. They were looked at as arbiters and people of greater status, right? Who could solve some of their disputes. And the first time he heard of the Prophet ﷺ was actually when he was seeking the assistance of Utbah ibn Rabi'ah. Utbah ibn Rabi'ah, who was of course one of the staunch opponents of the Prophet ﷺ and the elders of the people of Mecca, and someone who would come against the Prophet ﷺ on the day of Badr, and of course die as an opponent of the Prophet ﷺ. So As'ad and a man by the name of Zakwan ibn Abdul Qais. Zakwan ibn Abdul Qais are resolving a dispute with Utbah ibn Rabi'ah in Mecca, and the first time he hears about the Prophet ﷺ, he hears about him in a derogatory way, from Utbah. But he could decipher when Utbah was talking about the Prophet ﷺ in that derogatory way, what the Prophet ﷺ was calling to, this idea of oneness of God, this idea of an extension of the true Abrahamic way. So subhanAllah, that's why sometimes Islamophobes end up exposing people to Islam by accident.
Like Bilal r.a. who heard about it from his master, you know, first. So sometimes in their insulting the Prophet ﷺ, they end up introducing people to the Prophet ﷺ. So this is the first way that the seeds are planted for him, of an interesting new way, an interesting call that resembles the call of those Jewish tribes in Medina. Then of course the incident that we spoke about last week, the Prophet ﷺ going around on the days of Hajj, looking for an audience from all these people that are travelling to him, and he doesn't look past these six young men, amongst them was As'ad ibn Zurara r.a. And he speaks to them about Islam, and even the way the Prophet ﷺ addresses them, he says, are you the allies of the Jews from Medina? And they say yes, and the Prophet ﷺ says, sit, let me talk to you a bit. And their response was, what? Let us precede them in embracing this Prophet. Let us hasten and embrace this Prophet. We knew a Prophet was coming, let us hasten in embracing this Prophet. And of the six, you know, there's always got to be one person that takes the lead, right? You know, six people could be feeling good about themselves and about the situation, but you're naturally going to look towards your leader. As'ad r.a. is that leader. As'ad is the one that verbalises what everyone is feeling. As'ad is the one that is trusted amongst them, even though he's the youngest one. They're all kind of looking at him to see how he's receiving this message from the Prophet ﷺ. And As'ad r.a. Imagine, subhanAllah, the one who guides to good. الدال على الخير كفاعله is like the one who guides.
And As'ad is the first one to extend his belief to the Prophet ﷺ and to extend his allegiance to the Prophet ﷺ. So he said six people, these six young men, start this motion, right? And then they bring how many people to take a pledge with the Prophet ﷺ? The first bay'ah? Twelve. I want you to remember this. So six becomes twelve in total. These twelve take their pledge with the Prophet ﷺ. They say, send with us someone to teach us Islam. The Prophet ﷺ sends Mus'ab, very good, r.a. to Al-Madinah. They come back and they are in the second bay'ah. This is when they're the group of seventy, taking the second bay'ah of al-'Aqaba with the Prophet ﷺ. And the khateeb of the Ansar of that day, the spokesperson, is none other than this man. In fact, when you read the narrations of Siyar, a lot of times you hear someone standing up and someone addressing them. The one that is telling them, if you read the long narration of Jabir, r.a. and Muslim Imam Ahmed, the one who is standing up and addressing them and saying to them, look, Khazraj and Aus, you understand that by taking in this man, ﷺ, all of your ties with the Arabs in Mecca and with all of the external forces are now severed. They're all going to come after you. You're going to lose everything, everything of this world. And basically he's saying to them, he actually verbalized it, if you're going to walk away, walk away now. It's better with Allah ﷻ. Don't take this pledge on and then abandon and forsake your Prophet. If you're going to do this, do it now. What are we getting in return? Al-Jannah, Paradise. He's the first one to extend his hand to the Prophet ﷺ again to reaffirm that bay'ah and the people follow As'ad r.a.
Now, subhanAllah, think about, just think about how much is resting on the shoulders of this 19-year-old. It really is a remarkable thought. And you wonder why al-Abbas r.a. was like, I'm not so sure about this. I'm not so sure I can hand you over to these people, ya Rasulullah ﷺ. But with such confidence, with such love, expressing the best sentiments of the Ansar. And on that day, the Prophet ﷺ, out of the 70, he divided them into groups and he appointed 12 naqeebs, 12 nuqaba, 12 leaders now. So they're now apportioned into 12, 12 groups, okay. As'ad is assigned as the naqeeb of Banu Najjar, as a leader of Banu Najjar. So again, it was 6 men, then it was 12, and now it is 70. But of course, they're coming back from a place, you know, in Medina now, where they've established Islam in the hearts of many people. What is happening in between the two? If you go back and you watch the lecture of Mus'ab ibn Umayr r.a. As'ad r.a. is the one who hosts Mus'ab, who's about 21 years old, in Yathrib, right, in his home. And sets the scene for him. He tells him, that's the man you have to talk to, Sayyid ibn Hudayr, you've got to go convince him. Brings the different leaders of Medina, calms them down so that Mus'ab r.a. can do his da'wah. So Mus'ab in this way represents the spirit of the muhajireen. As'ad is the representative of the Ansar. Introducing him to the leaders, getting him to the homes that he needs to go to. Setting up the places for him to give his da'wah. SubhanAllah, imagine how much barakah was following those two men. Imagine how many angels were following those two men. Going around the city and setting the stage until they brought Islam to all of the homes.
Some accepted, most of them accepted, and some rejected and stayed on their own ways. But they taught Islam to all of these different people. Now there's something else here. As'ad r.a. being the chief of his people was the first one to break idols. I mean when I say the ultimate first amongst the Ansar, it's going to be first after first after first after first after first with this man, okay? You've got to understand there's now a hesitation. Okay, well what do we do now? The idols are still around the Ka'bah, right? No one has broken any idols yet. That's not going to come until Fath Makkah. As'ad is the first one to go back to his people and to officially break the idols. After which the other leaders of the tribes felt comfortable. If anyone is going to be killed, if anyone's going to face severe repercussions, it's going to be him, right? He does it. Sets that trend. And so they feel the comfort. You know what? Let's do it. We're not going to get struck by lightning. Horrible things are not going to happen to us. They do away with their idols because of As'ad r.a. Now here is the most stunning and one of the most beautiful parts of this. Was Jum'ah yet legislated? Was the Prophet ﷺ praying Jum'ah in Mecca? No, the Prophet ﷺ was trying to survive in Mecca, right? As'ad r.a. takes the day of Friday, the day of Jum'ah. The Jewish tribes would worship on the day of Saturday and of course the Christians had the day of Sunday. So between the Sabbath and Sunday, As'ad r.a. is the first person on the day of Friday to gather the people every single week to remember Allah ﷻ and then to pray two rak'ahs together in congregation behind Mus'ab ibn Umayr r.a. So imagine Medina now and the makings of
Jum'ah that was As'ad r.a. And by the way, Salat al-Dhuhr was still two rak'ahs at the time. So even before the official commandment of Jum'ah, Dhuhr was still two rak'ahs, Dhuhr would become four rak'ahs later on, okay, as well as Asr. So here you have, in fact, Isha. So it used to be just like when you pray Qasr, by the way, two, two, two, and Maghrib was three and then two. And then they were increased to four rak'ahs between Dhuhr, Asr and Isha. So they're gathering together, they're learning from Mus'ab r.a. As'ad r.a. And Mus'ab leads them in their Salat. I want you to think of this scene. Now imagine you're walking with an old man, all right. The old man is a man by the name of Ka'b ibn Malik r.a. Abdurrahman ibn Ka'b, he describes this. And this is so beautiful. He says that I was walking with my father after he was way advanced in his age and at that point he was blind. I mean, he was very, very, very old. He'd lost his vision and I used to walk him to the Salat. And he said every single time he heard the Adhan for Jum'ah, what would he do? He would say, Allahumma khfuru li As'ad. Oh Allah, forgive As'ad. Oh Allah, forgive As'ad. Oh Allah, have mercy on As'ad. Oh Allah, be pleased with As'ad. Now the young man has no idea what's going on. You know, SubhanAllah, when you walk into a community, right, and this is true for us even here. You might not know the history. Look how quick we forget our elders, sometimes when they're even amongst us, right, and their contributions and the legacy and what was laid down and all of that. You walk into a masjid that's just maybe 30, 40 years old, right, and that's going to become true with every generation. And you got that old person that remembers when it wasn't yet a masjid or when they used to pray in a parking lot somewhere or in a strip mall somewhere and then it became a
masjid. And they organically remember these people, these pioneers, and they start to seek forgiveness. They start to mention them in khair, mention them in good. The Rahman of the Ka'bah, he doesn't know what's going on here. Why As'ad? He's never met him before. Who is As'ad and why are you seeking forgiveness for him? Faya taradda, yata radda anhu, wa yaj'u lahu, wa yastakhiru lahu. Just making dua every single Jum'ah. So he said one time I asked him, I said, oh my father, why is it that you keep on making dua for As'ad ibn Zurarah every time you hear the call for Jum'ah? Now at this point Medina is an established place, right, there's thousands of people coming to Salatul Jum'ah every week in the message of the Prophet ﷺ. And he said, ya abunayya awwalu man jama'a bina fi yawmin jum'ah, oh my son, the first person to gather us on the day of Jum'ah was As'ad ibn Zurarah. The first person to lead us in Jum'ah was As'ad ibn Zurarah. And this was before you had Adhan. I mean I want you to think about this. Before the Adhan was instituted, As'ad radia Allahu ta'ala anhu gathered the people on the day of Friday in this open land and they would listen to a khutbah, they would listen to a sermon either from Mus'ab or from him and then they would pray behind Mus'ab ibn Umayr radia Allahu ta'ala anhu. And when Mus'ab radia Allahu ta'ala anhu went back to Mecca, As'ad radia Allahu ta'ala anhu was their imam. So As'ad continued to lead them in Salat. And how many people were they? 40 people. Which is why, by the way, in fiqh you'll find that the shaf'is, for example, say that the least number for Jum'ah is 40 people because they base it on this narration of these 40 people, these 40 men that were gathering for Salat early on in Al-Madinah. Of course that's not the case for the rest of the Madaha but this is where it comes from. So As'ad radia Allahu ta'ala anhu leads the Salat while Mus'ab radia Allahu ta'ala anhu goes back to Mecca and Mus'ab officially will approach now as a
muhajir, as a migrant with the rest of the Sahaba in Mecca. The Prophet ﷺ makes his hijrah. And from the time the Prophet ﷺ gets to Madinah, Rasulullah ﷺ wants to re-establish that connection with his maternal uncles, Banu Najjar. So when the Prophet ﷺ is going to move from place to place, he calls for his uncles from Banu Najjar to have that connection with them, salallahu alayhi wa sallam. So for example, we see the hadith khayru dhur al-ansar, Banu Najjar, the best of the Ansar are Banu Najjar. He's praising ﷺ his own family. If you read that in Bukhari, you don't know why that comes. Is it because of something? The Prophet ﷺ is praising his family, his uncles, and he was connecting, reconnecting with them, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, as he did not grow up with them. So the Prophet ﷺ is making his move, he's coming to this area, and As'ad radia Allahu ta'ala anhu has set up the entire scene for the Prophet ﷺ to make his arrival. So who was his mu'akha with? Who was his pairing with? In the house of As'ad, where none other than Talha ibn Ubaidillah and Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib radia Allahu ta'ala anhuma. What a great two people to host, right? So he hosted Talha radia Allahu ta'ala anhu and Hamza radia Allahu ta'ala anhu. The Prophet ﷺ stayed in Quba with a man by the name of Kuthum ibn al-Hadim, who we will talk about, radia Allahu ta'ala anhu, who was the chief of Banu Amr ibn Awf. Now Rasulullah ﷺ waited in Quba for about two weeks, okay? With slight ikhtilaf, slight difference in the exact number of days, but approximately two weeks the Prophet ﷺ waited in Quba. He was waiting, ﷺ, for the arrival of Ali radia Allahu ta'ala anhu, and then they make their entrance into Al-Madinah, officially into Al-Madinah. Ali radia Allahu ta'ala anhu was, of course, placed in charge of returning the amanat, returning the trusts of the people of
Mecca that were in the possession of the Prophet ﷺ. So he's in Quba, ﷺ, staying with Kuthum ibn al-Hadim, dividing his time between the different tribes, between the different leaders at the time, and then on that last week he spends that time praying Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and on Friday the Prophet ﷺ calls for his uncles from Banu Najjar, and he says, let us proceed now to Al-Madinah, let's go to the center of the city. As Rasulullah ﷺ is walking with his people, with his family now, the Ansar are lining up the entire path from Quba to where the Prophet ﷺ is going to eventually stop. You know, this last time I went to Umrah, they established Mamsha Quba, a walking path you can go from literally the masjid of the Prophet ﷺ to Quba, just walking, it's a straight path now. Of course, shopping malls and all types of stuff like that, but the point is that you think about, subhanAllah, just the people and excitement and anticipation welcoming the Prophet ﷺ in and giving their salam to the Prophet ﷺ, and as Rasulullah ﷺ is walking on that way, Banu Salim, they ask the Prophet ﷺ if he would stop and he would pray with them. The Prophet ﷺ loved the Ansar, and of course as we said on the day of Eid, one of the reasons why he'd go on the different paths was to say salam to all of the people and to give himself to the Ansar. The Prophet ﷺ accepted their request and he prayed the first Salatul Jumu'ah with them. So Rasulullah ﷺ led his first Jumu'ah there in Banu Salim, which is now known as, who can guess, Masjid al-Jumu'ah. So if you go to Madinah, Masjid al-Jumu'ah
comes out of the story. Rasulullah ﷺ could have made his way there to al-Madinah, but he stops there ﷺ and he prays Salatul Jumu'ah with at least a few hundred people there in what is now Masjid al-Jumu'ah, and Rasulullah ﷺ mounts his camel once again and he continues to go towards al-Madinah, and of course everyone is asking the Prophet ﷺ to stay with them, everyone is asking where the Prophet ﷺ is going to build his eventual Masjid, and Rasulullah ﷺ said that Allah ﷻ will guide the camel to its place. Subhanallah, as he gets down ﷺ, and the camel starts to go towards the place that Allah ﷻ has decreed it to go, it kneels down in this garden that belongs to two orphans from, or under the guardianship of a man from Banu Najjar, As'ad ibn Zurara, Sahal and Suhayl. This land, this area, when the camel knelt down, ﷺ he called the two boys, they're two orphan boys. Now remember, people used to exploit the orphans, right? Just get out of here, take some money, right? Here's a few dates, if even, kick them out. That's what used to happen, that's why the emphasis in the Qur'an and in the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, not to consume and exploit the wealth of an orphan. But what does the Prophet ﷺ do? The Prophet ﷺ starts to offer them a price, and they're like, Ya Rasulullah, no this is a gift, we don't want anything from you, Ya Rasulullah. But the Prophet ﷺ refused to take it for free, and the Prophet ﷺ bought it from those two orphans for a very high price. The tawfiq of Allah ﷻ, the tawfiq that came from Allah ﷻ, is that that very land where the masjid of the Prophet ﷺ would be established
was where As'ad was gathering the people on the day of Jum'ah before the Prophet ﷺ arrived in Medina. So now you know why you're walking with that old man, saying Allahumma khalili As'ad, Allahumma rada'anhu, because he remembers. This is what we used to do. SubhanAllah. And now that masjid is being built there. Masjid Rasulullah ﷺ. This empty land becomes this beautiful masjid to which we all have such a deep attachment. And the Prophet ﷺ, he's the one who's going to move it to the next stage. SubhanAllah. We look towards what happens at that point. And this is something that is very profound about the Messenger ﷺ. The wafa of the Messenger ﷺ. The loyalty of the Prophet ﷺ. If you did something for the Prophet ﷺ and you lived long enough, the Prophet ﷺ would always point you out in the gathering. And he'd mention that, and he'd praise you, and he'd pray upon you. And if you died, and people would forget your mention, Rasulullah ﷺ would revive So now you have this man, first person from Medina to accept Islam, the first person to give bay'ah to the Prophet ﷺ from Medina, first person to take mus'ab in and set the stage in Medina. A 19 or 20 year old, mind you, just keep on remembering that, young people in here as well, right? Asgharuhum umran, akbaruhum ilman, as they used to say, the youngest of them in age and the most knowledgeable of them or the most advanced of them in knowledge. This young man occupies such a place amongst them. The first person to lead them on the day of Jum'ah in Al-Medina, even before the Prophet ﷺ arrives in Al-Medina. And now that place becomes the place where the Prophet ﷺ gathers them. Now, this is very exciting for him, right? He prepared this entire civilization.
He set the stage with Mus'ab, radhiAllahu anhu, of course, being the greatest spokesperson. SubhanAllah, within the time period while they were still building the Masjid of the Prophet ﷺ, As'ad, radhiAllahu ta'ala anhu, gets extremely sick. Qadr of Allah, subhanAllah ta'ala. They called it da'il khanqah, and I was looking at what that means, right? And, you know, whether it's swollen lymph nodes, but it's something, a swollen throat, but something deeply painful in his throat that was causing great stress to him. Right? So, he was diseased with something. And at that time, they did al-qayy, they would cauterize. Okay? Which is very severe. I mean, that's how swollen his throat became. So, he became extremely ill, and they performed on him al-qayy, cauterization. And the Masjid was not even finished yet. Before Badr or Uhud, Allah, subhanAllah ta'ala, decreed that As'ad, radhiAllahu ta'ala anhu, would not live to be a part of any of it. He dies, radhiAllahu ta'ala anhu, in Shawwal, in the very first year of the Hijrah. When was Ramadan legislated? The second year. He didn't even live to see a Ramadan in Medina. He set the stage. I mean, this is his, this is all his work, right? That's happening here. And subhanAllah, he's going to pass away. He doesn't live to see Ramadan. We don't have a single hadith from him. There's one questionable narration, Ibn Hajar, rahimahullah, said that one we can't take from him. It's not, it's mursal. We can't say it's from As'ad, radhiAllahu ta'ala anhu, because he died so early. This man who set the stage, this man who could have sat with you and told you everything about how it all happens.
And subhanAllah, there he is, dying in front of the Prophet, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. Rasulullah, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, himself washes him. The Prophet, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, wraps him in three garments. The Prophet, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, prays on him. This becomes the first janazah. SubhanAllah. The first janazah. Khadijah, radhiAllahu anha, janazah was not prayed on her. She died before salatul janazah. The first janazah where Rasulullah, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, stands in front of him. Some of the scholars said there may have been one other before. Allah knows best. But multiple scholars say the very first janazah in Islam, certainly the first one in Al-Madinah, was Rasulullah, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, leading the Sahaba in that place as the masjid is still in development, upon As'ad ibn Zurarah, radhiAllahu anhu. And this is the one that really, really, really, really gives me goose bumps. My favorite place in Al-Madinah is actually Al-Baqee'ah. Can you imagine Al-Baqee'ah empty? You know where this really hit me? It was when we just opened Gardens of Mercy, our cemetery here. And we had the first janazah. I'd never been to a graveyard where we had the first grave there. Imagine the first janazah, the first grave in Al-Baqee'ah. This massive cemetery that we ask Allah to allow us to be buried in. Amongst the family of the Prophet, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, amongst the wives of the Prophet, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, amongst the companions of the Prophet, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, amongst the great scholars of this ummah, the salaf. I mean, that is the place that the believer longs to be in. The first man that the Prophet, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, carries and the companions carry, and the Prophet, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, buries all by himself
in what would become Jannat al-Baqee'ah, the graveyard that is full of the salihin. So you think about how full it is now, and you think about if you were living in that time and you'd walk by, in the masjid that is being developed, and you're still facing al-Aqsa, and you look and you see that one grave that's over there on the side, and it's As'ad ibn Zurarah, radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. If you remember where the Uthman ibn al-Nadirun, radiAllahu anhu, some said he was the first and the correct way to reconcile is the first of the muhajireen, because he died sometime after that. Definitely not in the first year or the first few months after the coming of the Prophet, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. He has no male children, so he has no descendants in that sense. There is no lineage that traces back to him, radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, as for his own orphan daughters, because he was a young man, so his three daughters were very young, al-Fari'ah, Habiba, and Kabsha. The Prophet, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, himself takes in these three girls. So these three, and this is the loyalty of the Prophet, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, these three young girls lived amongst the wives of the Prophet, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. And the Prophet, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, himself married these three off. So he took responsibility for them. The final thing, one of the most beautiful incidents, subAllahu alayhi wa sallam, you find in the narrations of this man, As'ad, radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. Banu Najjar, they call the Prophet, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, forward and they're in a predicament. He says, Ya Rasulullah, we lost our leader. We don't have a naqeeb anymore. So you have to appoint a successor. I mean, we don't even have the mechanism yet to appoint a successor amongst us. So Ya Rasulullah, choose the next person amongst us. You know what the Prophet, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, does? He says, ana naqeebukum.
I will be your naqeeb. I will represent Banu Najjar. SubAllahu alayhi wa sallam, Banu Najjar were like Allahu Akbar. The Prophet, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, sits as our naqeeb, as our representative now. Some of the scholars said, what a praise of As'ad, radiAllahu anhu, that there is no fitting successor to him. And the Prophet, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, steps in and says, I'll be your naqeeb. ana naqeebukum. SalAllahu alayhi wa sallam. RadiAllahu anhu, As'ad ibn Zurarah, may Allah be pleased with him, may Allah forgive him and accept from him, and may Allah, subAllahu alayhi wa sallam, allow us to be with him and with the Prophet, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, and his family and his companions and the shuhada and the salihin. wa hasuna ulaika rafiqa. Allahumma ameen. JazakumAllahu khayran. And inshAllah ta'ala there I will stop and take questions.
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