#ghazwat

17 Ramadhan, 2 AH, Friday This was the day, the battle of Badr took place. Indeed, almost all Muslims and non Muslims know about this great battle, but more than it being a battle it is also a treasure chest of reminders and reflections.  As much as I wanted to narrate the whole story about this Badr, I chose to pick one of the highlights of this event - the angels sent as help from Allah Azza Wa Jall. _____ The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam remained in the hut praying earnestly to Allah Azza Wa Jall to protect the Muslims and grant them victory. Allah Azza Wa Jall says in the Qur’an: “Remember you implored the assistance of your Lord. And He answered you: ‘I will assist you with a thousand of angels, ranks on ranks. Allah made it but a message of hope, and assurance to your hearts: (in any case) there is no help except from Allah: and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise.” [Qur’an Al Anfal: 9-10] It was narrated by Al Bukhari on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas RA who said, “On the day of the battle of Badr, the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam said,  “O Allah! I appeal to You (to fulfill) Your Covenant and Promise. O Allah! If Your Will is that none should worship You (then give victory to the pagans)!’ Then Abu Bakr RA took hold of him by the hand and said. “This is sufficient for you.” The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam came out saying a verse from the Qur’an, “Their multitude will be put to flight and they will show their backs.” [Qur’an Al Qamar: 45] Ibn Ishaq said that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam persisted in praying to Allah to grant him victory, which He had promised to him, and Abu Bakr RA would tell him, “O Prophet of Allah, your Lord will fulfill His Promise to you.” While the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam was in the hut he slept a light sleep; then he awoke and said, “Be of good cheer, O Abu Bakr. Allah’s help is coming to you. Here is Jibrail holding the rein of a horse and leading it. The dust is upon his front teeth.” Then the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam went forth to the people and incited them, saying, “By the One in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad, no man will be slain this day fighting against them with steadfast courage advancing not retreating but Allah will cause him to enter Paradise.” Al Bukhari narrated on the authority of Rafi Al Zuqri RA who was one of the Badr warriors that Jibrail came to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam and said, “How do you look upon the warriors of Badr among yourselves?” The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam said, “As the best of the Muslims.” Or said a similar statement. On that, Jibrail said, “And so are the Angels who participated in Badr.” Indeed, angels did participate in the battle of Badr. Ibn Abbas RA said that the Angels did not fight any battle but Badr. In the other battles they were there as reinforcements, but they did not fight. In this context, Ibn Ishaq reported that Waqid Al Laith RA said that I was pursuing a polytheist at Badr to smite him, when his head fell off before I could get at him with my sword, and I knew that someone else had killed him.  _____ This short excerpt from the event that took place that day would really tell you how Allah Azza Wa Jall helped, helps and will help those who call upon Him, and He when He helps, He Helps in the BEST way, in here, with the best of angels.  Now, let us ponder hard about this. How many times have we called upon Allah for help when we were facing such trials and hardships in our life? And how many times did His help come? Yet, most of the times we fail to recognize that there is no Help except in Allah.  His help can come in different ways, in different times but such help were the structured in the best way it can ever be, because it was from Allah Azza Wa Jall.  How cruel is our heart that when we find ease from something that hurts us, we couldn’t even utter Alhamdulillah. How cruel is it that when we find a way out from a situation that we thought we could never escape, we couldn’t even think of thanking Allah for it. How cruel is it that when we want something so much yet we couldn’t get it, instead of thinking that it must have been for the best for us, we blame his Qadr.  How many of us hit rock bottom? How many of us had the worst of cases, yet we are still here, reading this, breathing? The help of Allah is ever but near. It is us who refuse to call upon Him. It is us who doesn’t. _____ And we pray that through remembering the battle of Badr and what has taken place during that day would also enlighten and uplift our heart to be thankful for what we have been blessed with and to remember such mighty people who have fought for this religion and send salutations to our beloved Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam. Amin. ______ This was a day of victory. This was a day of triumph.  Let this victory live on through worshipping Allah in the best way possible. -Zohayma _____ Story was taken from Ghazwatul Rasool, Ibn Kathir, Al Manarah, pp. 35-39

I was eating rice for my early breakfast today and I remembered this story about the Sahabah Radiyallahu Anhum on their first ever encounter with rice, so here let me narrate the story. _____ During the Caliphate of 'Umar Ibn Al Khattab Radiyallahu Anhu, there was an uprising coming from the Iranian forces that troubled the Muslim Ummah, so He sent 319 Muhajideen under the command of 'Utbah Ibn Ghazwan Radiyallahu Anhu to Ablah. On their journey, after passing over difficult terrain, they stumbled upon a very green and fertile spot near Ablah and encamped there. They didn't have anything and when their hunger became unbearable, 'Ibn Ghazwan sent some of his companions to look for something to eat. [1] One of them narrated: "As we were walking along searching for something eatable, we entered a small grove. There we saw two earthen pots. One was filled with dates and the other one had small yellow grains in it. We picked up both of the pots and carried them to our Commander. One of our companions glanced at it and said they should be very careful, for it might be poisoned. We all turned towards the dates and started eating them, one of the horses, meanwhile, broke his tether and went straight to the pot with grains, put his mouth in and started to eat them, and we waited if there would be any effect on the house and if it is poisoned we shall kill the horse as it might go on suffering. So we kept watch at night and when the morning came we saw that nothing had happened to the horse and it was fine!" So, one of the wives of the Mujahideen said: "I have heard my father saying that if poison is cooked, then the effect of the poison is neutralized." She then picked some grains and started to cook it, then she pointed out that the husk was coming off from the grains, and white grains were appearing. To be able to check out the taste, it was placed on a bowl and was given to the general, he then said to try them, taking the name of Allah (Bismillah), and when he had tasted them, he found them to be delicious. Later, we learnt that these grains were called rice and was the favorite food of the Iranians." _____ Ma sha Allah, a lesson to be taken from here is that whenever we are given food, or we are about to take food we should never forget to start by saying the name of Allah, Bismillah, so that if there is anything bad or anything that may cause us harm then we will be protected. in sha Allah. Note: This was the first ever encounter of these people with rice, like anyone of us, when it will be our first time to encounter something we would always be skeptical about it, but the thing to consider here is that the Sahabah Radiyallahu Anhum were always careful before indulging into something, unlike most of us now, when it's new, we always want to try it not minding what it can cause us. Also, a point raised was that it's clear how the leader, the amir was the one who tasted and tried the food rather than making his people taste it, unlike how we do these days, we ask others to taste it for us, but during the Sahabah Radiyallahu Anhum, their leaders were more concerned on how their people would be rather than for themselves. And we pray that we may learn from the actions of these great people and in return we may think before we do our actions. Amin. Zohayma _____ F.N. [1] Commanders of the Muslim Army, Ghadanfar, p. 253 P.S. This was shared on the Stories of the Sahabah Facebook Page but some have requested that it be shared also on this blog.