Stories of Martyrs’ Sincerity

Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) sent him to look for S’ad Al-Rabi’ and instructed him that if he found S’ad (may Allah be pleased with him), he should convey the Prophet’s greetings to him and ask in which state he found himself.

Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) conveyed the Prophet’s greetings to him and asked him from the side of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) in which state he found himself.

S’ad (may Allah be pleased with him) replied, “Tell the Prophet (Peace be upon him) that I am smelling paradise. Also tell my people, the Ansar, that if the enemy approaches the Prophet (Peace be upon him) while even an eye among them twinkles with life, they would not be able to defend themselves in front of Allah.” Saying these words he departed from this world.

Among the injured was ‘Amr bin Thabit. He was from the Bani ‘Abdul Ash-hal and was known as Osayram. He always rejected Islam, but on the day of the Battle of Uhud he felt a strong urge in his heart to accept it. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) and his Companions had already proceeded to Uhud.

He professed Islam, took a sword in his hand, and joined the battle. None happened to know about his conversion. When Bani ‘Abdul Ash-hal went to the battlefield to collect the dead bodies of their men, they found Osayram lying injured in the battlefield. He was in a critical condition.

Recognizing him, they wondered why he was there as he had been rejecting Islam so far. They asked him if he had joined the battle in the love of his tribesmen or in the love of Islam.

He replied that he had accepted Islam and had participated with the Prophet (Peace be upon him) in Jihad and was in his present condition for Islam.

Saying this he breathed his last. When the Companions informed the Prophet (Peace be upon him) about it, he commented, “He is a resident of paradise.” Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) says that Osayram did not offer any Salah as he was martyred soon after professing Islam.

Among these martyrs was   ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr, the father of   Jabir. Before the Battle of Uhud, he had a dream in which he saw  Mubashshir bin ‘Abdul Munzir, who was martyred in Badr.

Mabashshir (may Allah be pleased with him) told ‘Abdullah that he was soon to join him. When ‘Abdullah asked him where he was, he replied, “In paradise. Here we stroll around freely.” ‘Abdullah inquired of him, “Were you not martyred in the Battle of Badr?” Mubashshir (may Allah be pleased with him) replied, “Yes, but I was brought to life again.”   ‘Abdullah says that he mentioned his dream to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) upon which he commented, “It foretells your martyrdom.”

Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that when his father’s dead body was brought to the Prophet (Peace be upon him), he tried to uncover the face of his father, but people forbade him from doing so as his father’s dead body was mutilated by the disbelievers. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, “The angels have been continuously providing shade over the dead body.”

Khaythama (may Allah be pleased with him) was also a martyr in the Battle of Uhud. His son had laid his life in the Battle of Badr. He submitted to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) on the occasion of the Battle of Uhud that in spite of his eagerness he had not been able to participate in the Battle of Badr as the name of his son had come out in the lot and he was blessed with martyrdom.

He added that he had a dream the previous night in which he saw his son in the best appearance walking happily in the midst of a fruit orchard beside lakes. His son invited him to join him and live with him and said, “Whatever promises my Lord had made to me, I found them true.”

Khaythama (may Allah be pleased with him) told the Prophet, “By God, O Prophet of Allah! I am so eager now to join my son in paradise. I am quite old and fragile now. Now I sincerely desire to meet my Lord. Please pray for me that I am blessed with paradise.”  The Prophet (Peace be upon him) prayed for him. He laid his life in the Battle of Uhud.

‘Abdur Rahman bin Jahash  was yet another fortunate person to receive martyrdom in the Battle of Uhud. Before the battle, his supplication was: “O Allah! I ask of You on oath that tomorrow when I face the enemies, they slay me and then cut my stomach open and chop off my nose and ears. Then You ask me why my body was dismembered this way, upon which I reply, “For Your sake, O Lord!”

‘Amr bin Al-Jamooh  was also one of the martyrs of Uhud. He was lame and could not walk freely. He had four young sons who always accompanied the Prophet (Peace be upon him) in Jihad. On the occasion of Uhud he also wished to join.

His sons reminded him that he was excused from the responsibility of participating in Jihad due to his physical disability and should stay at home.

He complained about the situation to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and said, “O Prophet of Allah! My sons dissuade me from participating in Jihad, but I wish that I am blessed with martyrdom and walk in paradise with my lame foot.” The Prophet (Peace be upon him) consoled him by saying that Allah had excused him from participating in Jihad, but he (Peace be upon him) told his sons at the same time to let him join the Muslim army: “Let him go. What is the harm? Maybe, Allah grants him martyrdom.”

Mus’ab bin ‘Umayr was also martyred in the battle. He used to wear a dress worth not less than 200 rupees before accepting Islam, but when he died, he had only a blanket with which he covered his body.

That blanket was so small that when it was pulled up to cover his head at the time of his burial, his feet remained uncovered, and when his feet were covered with it, his head remained bare. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) instructed the Companions to cover his head with the blanket and put some grass over his feet.                                              

In this very battle, the Prophet’s uncle Hamza was also slain. The enemies dismembered his body in the rage of revenge.

Hind, Abu Sufyan’s wife, made a garland of the chopped limbs of his body and wore it in her neck.

Driven by the spirit of revengefulness, she opened the chest of Hamza, took out the liver and tried to chew it and swallow, but she could not do so and threw it out.

Hearing the news of the defeat, Safiya, sister of Hamza, came from Madinah. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) instructed her son Zubayr to forbid her from seeing the dead body of Hamza, as it was badly mutilated.

When Zubayr conveyed the Prophet’s message to her, she said, “I have heard what has been done to my brother’s dead body. This is, however, not a big sacrifice in the path of Allah.” With the Prophet’s permission, she went close to her brother’s dead body and took a look at his dismembered limbs scattered around. Although deeply moved from inside, she recited, (We come from Allah and to Him we return) and prayed for his forgiveness.