The Firsts (Sahaba Stories) | The Forerunners of Islam
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44
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
Rayta Bint Al-Harith (ra): Poisoned on the Way | The Firsts Shorts
Rayta Bint Al-Harith is a woman we know very little about. She is one who embodies the struggle of those who died on their way to the promised land of Madinah.
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. I hope that inshallah ta'ala you are enjoying this series and I hope you're enjoying the angels series as well, bi'idhnillahi ta'ala. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to remain connected to our beloved messenger salallahu alayhi wa sallam, his family and companions. May Allah be pleased with them all. And I hope that bi'idhnillahi ta'ala you are learning about people that otherwise you did not know about and developing a connection to them. SubhanAllah, this one that we're speaking about today, it's probably not going to be very long, but it's near and dear to my heart because of the circumstances of it. You know, we've been dealing with a lot of tragic death in the COVID era and sometimes it's very hard to come to terms with those things. And in the case of this woman that we're talking about today, this is certainly one in which you find tragic death being the dominating theme of her story. Now, her name is Rayta bint al-Harith ibn Jabalah. Rayta radiAllahu ta'ala anha bint al-Harith ibn Jabalah. Now the name Rayta is actually a name that was very common. That was the name of the sister of Ali radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. Rayta bint Abi Talib radiAllahu anha, who was a companion of the Prophet SallAllahu alayhi wa sallam. And as I said, when we talked about Subai'a a couple of episodes ago radiAllahu anha, that this is not the same al-Harith. So this is not her sister. But if I do want to really confuse you, and I will just because I already said I'm going to confuse you, Rayta has a brother named Subai'a, not Subai'a, Subai'a ibn al-Harith, who was also a person who embraced Islam. So Rayta bint al-Harith ibn Jabalah radiAllahu anha is not the sister of Subai'a, but also an early companion of Islam. Her and her husband al-Harith ibn Khalid embraced Islam very early on with the Prophet SallAllahu alayhi wa sallam.
And we don't know much about them at all in regards to their circumstances in Mecca, except that they are considered amongst the first 40 or 50 to embrace Islam with the Prophet SallAllahu alayhi wa sallam. So you're kind of seeing a theme here that you had a lot of young couples that were also disenfranchised, right? They're not from powerful tribes. They are not considered amongst the prominent people of Mecca. Some of them are former slaves that married one another or married into society. In any case, they were very vulnerable. And this sort of makes up the majority of the people that made the trip to Abyssinia alongside Ja'far ibn Abi Tarib radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, right, under the leadership of Ja'far radiAllahu anhu. So Rayta and Al-Harith, may Allah be pleased with them, young couple, did not have children in Mecca, made their way to Abyssinia and waited anxiously for a way out of Abyssinia. And while they were in Abyssinia, they had four children. Okay, SubhanAllah, the names are beautiful. Musa, Zainab, Aisha and Fatima. May Allah be pleased with them all. So, you know, you hear about these people that had children in Abyssinia, one child or two child, two children. Here in the case of this couple, all four of their children were born in Abyssinia. So they're living in Abyssinia. They are waiting for the news from the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam to either return back to Mecca or to go someplace else. They hear the news of the hijrah to Medina, and they are amongst those who leave immediately from Abyssinia to join the companions in Medina. So we'll talk about, InshaAllah, actually in the next episode, we'll talk about those that came from Abyssinia to Medina later, okay, or attempted to do so. In this situation, there are a group of people that try to make their way from Abyssinia to Medina quickly, as soon as they heard of the hijrah to Medina. And this is their case.
While they are on their way, and this is where SubhanAllah, it becomes such a heavy story. Al-Harith ibn Khalid, Rayta radiAllahu ta'ala Anha, with their four children are getting close to Medina. And as they're getting close to Medina, they're obviously making these stops. And you know, you got to understand that when you're making these types of migrations across the world with very little provisions, you're taking some serious risks, right? Where are you going to stop? How are you going to pace yourself? What are you going to eat and drink along the way? And as much as you prepare yourself, you know, it's not like your car could break down. No, I mean, things can get very serious. So while they were on the way, they drank some water as they were getting close to Al-Medina, and then they went to sleep. This scene, I can't wrap my head around, but SubhanAllah, it's very powerful and profound. Al-Harith ibn Khalid wakes up and he finds his wife, Rayta radiAllahu ta'ala Anha, Musa, his child, Zainab and Aisha, two daughters, all dead. So they all drank some water that was clearly tainted for whatever reason. It doesn't seem to be anything that was malicious towards them, but they drank bad water that had something in it that caused his wife and three of his four children to die. So SubhanAllah, they are muhajireen and shuhada in this regard. And imagine what it's like now for Al-Harith ibn Khalid with his one daughter at this point, Fatima, who survived, and he has to get into Medina. In this case, he left Abyssinia with a wife and four children. He's arriving in Medina with just one daughter and his wife and his children, all dead from drinking from spoiled water on the way. May Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala count them amongst the shuhada. And then he arrives in Medina. And of course, the rest is history. He accompanies the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam for the rest of his life while leaving
behind his wife and his three children that passed away on the way to Al-Medina. Now, this group of people, and the reason why I choose this story, and as we're kind of getting to the end of the shorts of season one of the first, I just think to myself, what's their status with Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala? And we're talking about a lot of death, a lot of people losing multiple family members. Imagine being in the place of Al-Harith Ibn Khalid and waking up and seeing your wife and three of your four children dead as you were migrating for the sake of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala to Medina. That excitement that was there to join the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam in this new community, the promise of Medina, to finally live amongst the Muslims under the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. And all of that has suddenly turned into a very harsh moment for him. While we also think of the status of this woman, Rayta radiAllahu ta'ala Anha, and her children in the sight of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala due to what they faced. Now, this is a situation where you have people that died on the way from one hijrah to another. The status is, it's hard to even put into words, right? Their status with Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. They're not just people that died on the way to one hijrah. They died from hijrah to hijrah. And of course, now there is a concern amongst those that have resided in Medina. What about those who intended to make the hijrah, but they could not do so? There's another man by the name of Khalid bin Hizam. As I said, there are multiple Khalids. So Khalid bin Hizam radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu, who is the brother of Hakeem bin Hizam radiAllahu Anhu, who became Muslim much later. And he is the nephew of Khadijah radiAllahu Anha. So his brother is very famous, Hakeem bin Hizam, because of, you know, later on becoming Muslim and his relationship with the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. And of course, again, a nephew of Khadijah radiAllahu Anha. Khalid was the younger brother.
And Khalid bin Hizam was also on the way to hijrah, and he got bit by a snake and he died. So again, you're talking about this family that died because they drank bad water. This man that got bit by a snake and died. People that intended and maybe they were persecuted and killed. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala revealed for these people, وَمَن يَخْرُج مِن بَيْتِهِ مُهَاجِرًا إِلَىٰهِ وَرَسُولِهِ that whoever goes out, leaving their home as a migrant for the sake of Allah and His Messenger SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, ثُمَّ يُدْرِكُهُ الْمَوْتِ and then death overtakes them, فَقَدْ وَقَعَ أَجْرُهُ عَلَىٰ اللَّهِ then their reward is surely incumbent upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Do not think that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is not going to reward these people tremendously for what they have done. Then Allah has taken it upon Himself to guarantee the reward on the day of judgment. وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمًا And surely Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is ever forgiving, most merciful. So subhanAllah, you know this next episode inshallah ta'ala we're going to talk about you know those that eventually came from Abyssinia and they made it to Medina. But think about the status of these people that died from Mecca to Medina, that died from Mecca to Abyssinia, that died from Abyssinia to Medina and how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying to them and about them that Allah will not let their reward go to waste. That everything that they would realize in Medina, their intentions had already gotten them that reward because of what they had done. And you know how many Muslims, including myself by the way prior to really getting into this, have never heard these names before, but imagine how high they will be in the status of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, in the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on the day of judgment. May Allah be pleased with them and allow us to also have those sincere intentions to do whatever it takes to gain his pleasure and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive us when
we fall short either due to some deficiency in ourselves or some circumstances that are out of our hands. Allahumma ameen. RizakumAllahu khayran inshallah ta'ala I'll see you next time. Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu.
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