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Abu Muwayhiba (ra): What Happened on the Prophet’s ﷺ Final Nights | The Firsts
Little is recorded about Abu Muwayhiba (ra), a freed slave of the Prophet ﷺ.
Yet in the final days of the Prophet's ﷺ life, it was Abu Muwayhiba (ra) who walked beside him through the darkness of night to a cemetery, and witnessed a moment no one else was given. What did the Prophet ﷺ confide in him? And what choice did he make that would change everything? Watch to discover the story of one of the most overlooked companions.
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings.
So subhanAllah, we took a lot more with Thawban radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu than I thought we
would take with him, but truly a rich biography, may Allah be pleased with him, and many interactions which shows you that every one of these mawali, as insignificant as they may seem, subhanAllah the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam occupied such a special place in their hearts.
So we covered Sayina radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, who was nicknamed by the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam as someone who held that identity proudly and who was able to literally turn a lion into an animal that would hunt, to an animal that would guide. And then we looked at Thawban, so
every time you now read these books of al-fitan and you hear the hadith, an Thawban, an Thawban, an Thawban, remember who you're talking about. The last person is someone who is distinguished by a moment with
the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam as well, but that moment is one of the most profound moments in the seerah and it's exclusively for him radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. And his name is Abu Muwayhibah,
Abu Muwayhibah radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. And he was from the mawali, from the freed slaves of Muzaynah. For those of you that are familiar with the climate of Medina, you may have heard of a
place called Yanbu', which is towards the coast, a couple of hours. First of all, if you're going to Medina, you have no business going on a beach vacation, leave that for another time. But if you go online, they'll tell you, you know, go see the beach there. Yanbu' is to the coast,
that's where the area of Muzaynah originates from. So he's from one of those tribes, radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. So likely, like Thawban, he was acquired as a captive of war initially.
That's the most likely possibility of him. But when he was acquired, he was freed by the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam. And everything about him is unknown from there, except for Abu Muwayhibah,
Mawla Rasulillah salallahu alayhi wa sallam, the freed slave of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam. The only book that I found that tried to give him a name is a book called Asmaa man yu'raf bi kunyatihi, the names of those
who are known only by their kunyah, by Abu al-Fath al-Azdi. So he says that his name is Mukhabir ibn Mu'ad. I could not find anyone else that says his name is Mukhabir ibn Mu'ad. So Abu Muwayhibah, radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, what's his story with the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam?
At some point, he's established amongst Ahl al-Suffah. So he came to Medina and he was amongst those that lived in the masjid of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam and was taken care of by the companions of
the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam. But also, Ahl al-Suffah was like a seminary inside the masjid, right? The people of al-Suffah, they learned hadith, they learned ilm, they learned the mannerisms of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam
and his companions. I mean, you're in the masjid of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam constantly. And the only battle that we have him participating in is the Battle of Muraysir, which is also known as Bani al-Mustaliq.
And this was the battle five years after hijrah where Aisha radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu would be slandered after that, right? The slander of Aisha radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu comes after this battle. And subhanAllah,
it just so happens that Ibn Manzur says that Abu Muwayhibah was the one who was leading Aisha's radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu camel.
That he was the one that actually used to take her camel around. So the whole story of hadith al-ifk, the slander of Aisha radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, her being left behind, them thinking that she's on the camel.
If you just have an image of a man, radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, Abu Muwayhibah was the man that was walking with the camel of Aisha radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, and in charge of that camel under normal
circumstances. Now subhanAllah, before we talk about his special moment with the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, because it specifically involves the death of the Messenger of Allah salallahu alayhi wa sallam,
I want to preface his moment with the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam with just a few days before his death salallahu alayhi wa sallam, something very interesting that he does. And this is the hadith of Uqbah ibn Amir,
radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, where he says, The Messenger of Allah salallahu alayhi wa sallam went out one day and prayed upon the people of Uhud as he prayed upon the deceased.
The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam's last trip outside of his immediate vicinity of his masjid, of his house, was to go out to Uhud salallahu alayhi wa sallam. And the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam was frequent
to go visit the shuhada of Uhud, but he went out to visit the shuhada of Uhud for the very last time. Imagine the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam right before he dies, days at the max, a week or two before his death,
going to visit the shuhada of Uhud one more time. Hold this with you next time you visit Uhud. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala write it down for us. Allahumma ameen. And he prayed upon the companions.
There are two interpretations. The majority is that he made du'a for them, salah in the general sense here. Some scholars said he prayed another janazah on them. Allah knows best, it seems to be that he prayed on them like the day that he bid them farewell.
That's sort of the sentiment that's being conveyed here. Like it was a very emotional and touching visit. And this is almost a decade after they've been martyred, right?
Think about that, you know, like that loyalty, that wafa, to your companions who fell. And you still go there and you visit them like the day that they died. Then the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam said,
I am preceding you. And I am a witness upon you. And I, by Allah, am looking at my fountain right now. He said, I am preceding you,
and I am a witness upon you, and I see, by Allah, my fountain right now. The fountain that Thawban radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu narrated the hadith about,
where the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam is telling the companions basically, be patient, I will be waiting for you at the pond. You'll find me at the pond. And that was his comfort salallahu alayhi wa sallam to his companions.
Now up until this point, the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam is still walking on his own. He's still healthy enough to go to Uhud. He's still healthy enough to move, right? So the sickness does not appear to be a
fatal illness. But then of course, we know that it's going to get worse. And here comes now, the hadith of Abu Muwayhibah. He was the single person with the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam the last time he left
his house. The only person who got to have that moment with the Messenger of Allah salallahu alayhi wa sallam, and it's a profound moment. Abdullah ibn Amr al-As narrates,
The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam said to me at night, so imagine at night, just a few days before his death, he says,
I have been given the command to go and seek forgiveness for the people in al-Baqi'.
So come with me. So Abu Muwayhibah's one hadith is this hadith, by the way. So he gets up and he prepares himself and he goes out with the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam to al-Baqi'. So he says,
It was the middle of the night. So this is, I mean, can you imagine? Can you imagine this sight? Can you imagine the sentiment? No lights, no, you and the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam in the middle of the night, darkness of the night, you're the last person to have that moment with him salallahu alayhi wa sallam.
And he says, so he went into al-Baqi'. He's speaking to them for the last time.
Like glad tidings to you for what you are in right now, compared to what the people are in right now.
The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam is saying to the people of al-Baqi', if only you knew what Allah has saved you from. SubhanAllah, this is a paradigm shift because we're going to be getting into the signs of the Day of Judgment and the death of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam being such a monumental sign of the Day of
Judgment. Like he was sent with the hour salallahu alayhi wa sallam, with the hour. And you think about the world deteriorating and how that all looks. And the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam is saying to the people of al-Baqi'
that died before he died, like if only you knew how blessed you are compared to what the people
are in after you have passed away. If only you knew what Allah spared you from.
The fitan are now approaching like darkness upon darkness, like the dark nights. And it's going to get darker and darker and darker.
One comes after the other. Everyone that comes after is darker than the one that came before it. SubhanAllah, he's saying to his companions that passed away that it's coming and it's going to
get worse. May Allah protect us. May Allah protect us and not let us fall to those fitan. Then Abu Muwayhibah says he did something interesting.
He turned towards me and he started to speak to me. So first the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam spoke to the companions of the graves and then he spoke to me. Middle of the night, it's just me and the
Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam. Who am I for the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam to even acknowledge me, right? To even talk to me and to even give me this type of sha'n, this type of importance. But he says, Ya Abu Muwayhibah,
I have been given the choice between the keys of this world and living forever in this dunya, until its end basically.
So basically, I've been given the choice between living in this life until the end of it with all
of its kingdom and with immortality until the end and then Jannah or going to meet my Lord right now. Between meeting my Lord. What does Abu Muwayhibah do?
He said, May my mother and father be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah. Go ahead and take
the first option, stay in this dunya with us, choose us, stay with us and then you'll get Jannah later on. Why do you have to rush, O Messenger of Allah? Can you stay with us? Can you stay with us? So SubhanAllah, his last plea with the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam is, O Messenger of Allah,
stay with us, don't go. And the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam responds and he says, He said, no Abu Muwayhibah, rather I have chosen the meeting with my Lord.
Then the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam turned back to al-Baqi' and he started to seek forgiveness for them salallahu alayhi wa sallam. And then we turned back and we went back to his house salallahu alayhi wa sallam and he says,
and that's when the sickness of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam reached its pinnacle. And he said and the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam died only a few days after that salallahu alayhi wa sallam. SubhanAllah, imagine that being your one moment
with the Messenger of Allah salallahu alayhi wa sallam. And it's significant more so because of what it tells us about our Messenger of Allah salallahu alayhi wa sallam and what the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam was telling us about, right? And
how the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam was very well aware of the depth of trial and tribulation that would outlast
him salallahu alayhi wa sallam. Abu Muwayhibah, we do not know the date or the location or any of the circumstances of
his death after that. And this is his one narration. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to gather us with our Messenger of Allah salallahu alayhi wa sallam to make us amongst those that pass the trials of fitan, to make us
amongst those that are not deluded by a little of this dunya and instead to make us amongst those that listen to the man that was offered the entirety of this dunya and chose the meeting with his Lord salallahu alayhi wa sallam. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us amongst those who always choose our Lord and may Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala make us amongst those who get to accompany our Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam for eternity. Allahumma ameen. The next time we will meet, we'll continue with some of the mawali of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, some of those freed slaves of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam and their interactions with
the Messenger of Allah salallahu alayhi wa sallam. JazakumAllahu khayr wa as-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
