It is really very hard for the Muslims of to-day to imagine, and much less to endure or even to attempt to endure, the hardships that were borne by the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) and his illustrious companions in the path of Allah. Books of history are full of stories of their sufferings. It is a pity that we are so indifferent to those events and our knowledge is so poor in this regard. I open this chapter with a story about the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) himself to get the blessings of Allah, which are sure to attend his auspicious mention. '
Hadhrat Abuzar Ghifari's (Radhiyallaho anho) Conversion to Islam
Hadhrat Abuzar Ghifari (Radhiyallaho anho) is very famous
among the Sahabah for his piety and knowledge. Hadhrat Ali (Radhiyallaho anho)
used to say:
"Abuzar is the custodian of such knowledge as other people are incapable of acquiring."
When he first got news of the Prophet's (Sallallaho alaihe
wasallam) mission, he deputed his brother to go to Mecca and make investigations regarding 'the person' who
claimed to be the recipient of Divine revelation.
His brother returned after necessary enquiries, and informed
him that he found Muhammad (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) to be a man of good habits and excellent conduct,
and that his wonderful revelations were neither poetry nor sooth-sayings. This report did not satisfy him,
and he decided to set out for Mecca and find out the facts for himself. On reaching Mecca, he went straight to
the Haram. He did not know the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) and he did not consider it advisable (under
the circumstances prevailing at that time) to enquire about him from anybody. When it became dark, Hadhrat
Ali (Radhiyallaho anho) noticed him and seeing in him a stranger, could not ignore him, as
hospitality and care for the travellers, the poor and the strangers, were the Sahabah's second nature. He, therefore,
took him to his place. He did not ask him about the purpose of his visit to Mecca, nor did Abuzar
(Radhiyallaho anho) himself disclose it. Next day, he again went to the Haram and stayed there till nightfall without
being able to learn who the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam)
was. In fact
everybody knew that the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) and his companions were being persecuted in Mecca, and Abuzar
(Radhiyallahoanho) might have had misgivings about the result of his quest for the Prophet (Sallallaho
alaihe wasallam). Hadhrat Ali (Radhiyallaho anho) again took him home for the night, but again did not have
any talk with him about the purpose of his visit to the city. On the third night, however, after Hadhrat Ali
(Radhiyallaho anho) had entertained him as on the two previous nights, he asked him:
"Brother, what brings you to this town?"
Before replying, Hadhrat Abuzar (Radhiyallaho anho)
took an undertaking from Hadhrat Ali
(Radhiyallaho anho) that he would speak the truth, and then he enquired from
him about Muhammad (Sallallaho alaihe wasallarn). Hadhrat Ali (Radhiyallaho
anho) replied:
"He is verily the Prophet of Allah. You accompany me
tomorrow and I shall take you to him. But you have to be very careful, lest
people come to know of your association with me, and you get into trouble. When
on our way I apprehend some trouble, I shall get aside pretending some
necessity or adjusting my shoes, and you will proceed ahead without stopping so
that the people may not connect us."
The next day, he followed Hadhrat Ali (Radhiyallaho anho),
who took him before the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam). In the very first
meeting, he embraced Islam. The Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam), fearing
that the Qureysh might harm him, enjoined upon him not to make an open
declaration of his Islam, and bade him to go back to his clan and return when Muslims
had gained the upper hand. Hadhrat Abuzar (Radhiyallaho anho) replied:
"0, Prophet of Allah! By Him who is the master of my
soul, I must go and recite the Kalimah in the midst of these unbelievers."
True to his word, he went straight to the Haram and, right
in the midst. of the crowd and at the pitch of his voice, recited Shahadah viz:
"I bear witness that there is no god But Allah, and I
bear witness that Muhammad (Sallallaho
alaihe wasallam) is the Prophet of Allah."
People fell upon him from all sides, and would have beaten
him to death if Abbas (the Prophet's uncle, who had not till then embraced Islam) had not shielded him and
saved him from death. Abbas said to the mob:
"Do you know who he is? He belongs to the Ghi-far clan,
who live on the way of our caravans to Syria. If he is killed. they will waylay
us and we shall not be able to trade with that country."
This appealed to their prudence and they left him alone.
The next day Hadhrat Abuzar (Radhiyallaho anho) repeated his
perilous confession of Imaan and would have surely been beaten to death by the crowd. had not Abbas
intervened once again and saved him for the second time.
The action of Hadhrat Abuzar
(Radhiyallaho anho) was due to his extraordinary zeal for proclaiming
Kalimah among the disbelievers. and the prohibition by the Prophet (Sallallaho
alaihe wasallam) was due to the soft corner in his heart for Hadhrat Abuzar
(Radhiyallaho anhu) he be put to hardships that might prove too much for
him. There is not the least shadow of disobedience in this episode. Since the
Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) himself was undergoing all sorts of
hardships in spreading the message of Islam. Abuzar (Radhiyallaho anho) also thought
it fit to follow his example rather than to avail of his permission to avoid
danger. It was this spirit of Sahabah that took them to the heights of material
and spiritual progress. When a person once recited the Kalimah and entered the
fold of Islam. no power on earth could turn him back and no oppression or
tyranny could stop him from Tabligh.
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