Part 46

If a flag was hoisted in celebration of glory Then it must have been held by the right hand of an Arab.

His valor was outstanding in all the battles in which he fought when the Prophet (PBUH) was alive and even after his death.

When courage depends on honesty rather than craftiness, and on straightforwardness and confrontation rather than prevarication and maneuvering, then there must be difficult and endless trouble and

intolerable hardships for its possessor. Ever since Qais threw aside his incredible skill of cunning and maneuvering and held onto his straightforward and conspicuous courage, he felt relieved and content, notwithstanding the problems he had to confront and the obligations he had to fulfill.

Genuine courage stems solely out of its possessor's conviction. This conviction is not affected by desire or whim, but rather by truthfulness and honesty with himself.

Hence, when the conflict between “Aliy and Mu‘aawiyah started, Qais sat alone trying to side with the one whom he believed to be in the right. Then as soon as he decided that ~Aliy was right, he did not hesitate to stand by his side with admirable pride, valor, and fearlessness.

Qais was one of the fearless heros of As-Sifiin, Al-Jamal and An-Nahrawaan. He carried the Ansaar's standard and cried out, "The standard that I'm carrying now is the same one that I used to carry when we marched for war with the Prophet (PBUH) and had Jibriil as our reinforcement. Any man who has no one but the Ansaar on his side is a lucky man."

Imam “Aliy assigned him to govern Egypt. Now, Muaawiyah's eyes were always set on Egypt, as he considered it the most precious stone in his prospective crown. Therefore, no sooner had Mu‘aawiyah heard that Qais was to govern Egypt than he lost his self-control and was gripped by apprehensions lest Qais should stand forever in his way to rule Egypt, even if he achieved a decisive victory over Imam “Aliy. Hence, he used all his canning methods and unscrupulous tricks to defame Qais before ~Aliy.

Finally, Imam “Aliy ordered him to leave Egypt. Qais had a legitimate chance to use his cleverness, for he realized that Mu‘aawiyah must have incited *Aliy against him through his sly and crafty tricks after he had failed to win him over to his side. He aimed at inciting Imam “Aliy against Qais by casting doubts on his loyalty to him. Therefore, the best answer to Mu‘aawiyah's evil plots

was to show more loyalty to “Aliy and what he represented. This loyalty was not a mere pretence or a means to an end on Qais's part, but rather his firm conviction and belief. Therefore, he did not feel for a moment that he was dismissed from his position, for Qais considered the governorship and all other positions as a means to the ultimate end, namely, to serve his faith and religion. He dedicated himself to the service of the truth. Whether he maintained his governorship of Egypt or stood by Imam “Aliy in the battlefield, it was one and the same thing for him, as long as they were a means to attain truth.

When Mu‘aawiyah left the Muslims no other way out but to unsheathe their swords against one another, Qais took the command of 5,000 Muslims who shared in mourning for Imam “Aliy's death.

Al-Hasan thought that it would be best to put an end to the prolonged suffering of Muslims and that deadly horrible conflict.

Therefore he agreed to negotiate with Mu’aawiyah and finally gave him his oath of allegiance. When this happened, Qais pondered the matter in his mind and decided that no matter how right AlHasan was in his decision, his soldiers had every right to be consulted. Thus, he called them together and addressed them saying, “If you wish, we will keep on fighting to the last breath, or if you wish, I will ask Mu‘aawiyah to guarantee your safety and security."

Naturally, Mu‘aawiyah was relieved and overjoyed to be rid of one of his most dreaded and dangerous foes.

This man whose craftiness was tamed and subdued by Islam died in A.H. 59 in Al-Madiinah . This was the man who used to say, "Ié I did not hear the Prophet say, 'Craftiness and deceit reside in hell,’ I would have been the craftiest man of the nation.” In the end he died, yet the fragrance of this trustworthy and disciplined Muslim still lingers on.

(24) *UMAIR IBN WAHB The Satan of Paganism and Disciple of Islam

On the Day of Badr, he was one of the leaders who took up their swords to put an end to Islam. He was sharp-sighted and a perfect estimator, so his people delegated him to determine the number of Muslims who set forth with the Messenger and to see if the Muslims had ambushers or reinforcements behind them. “Umair Ibn Wahb Al-Jamhii galloped on his horse round the camp of the Muslims, then returned to his people and told them that there were about 300 men, and his estimation was right.

They asked him if they had reinforcements behind them. He said, "I found nothing. But O you Quraish, I saw horses carrying veritable death. They have neither fortitude nor refuge except their swords. By Allah! I see if one of them is killed, one of you will be killed also. If they killed the same number as you, what would be the benefit of life after that? Think wisely."

Some of the leaders of the Quraish were affected by his opinion and what he had said and were about to gather their men and return to Makkah without fighting, were it not for Abu Jahl who altered their opinion and ignited the fire of spite and war, in which he was its first victim.

The Quraish gave him the epithet "The Satan of Quraish". On the Day of Badr, the Satan of Quraish fought fiercely and wildly, but the forces of the Quraish returned to Makkah completely beaten and “Umair Ibn Wahb left a part of himself at Al-Madiinah, as the Muslims had taken his son as a prisoner of war.

One day, he joined his cousin Safwaan Ibn Umaiyah who was chewing his enemies in deadly bitterness because his father Umaiyah Ibn Khalaf had been killed at Badr and his bones buried at Al-Qaliib.

Safwaan and “Umair sat together ruminating on their enemies. Let “Urwah Ibn AzZubair tell us their long dialogue:

Safwaan, mentioning those who were killed at Badr said, "By Allah, there isn't any good in life after them." *Umair said, "That's true. By Allah, were it not for debts that I'm unable to repay and my children who I fear might be vagabonds after me, I would ride to Muhammad and kill him. I have a plausable reason to give him. I'll say that I have come for the sake of my son, a prisoner of war."

Safwaan seized the chance and said, "I'll repay your debts and maintain your children with mine and comfort them as long as they live." “Umair agreed and said, "Keep it secret." Then he ordered his sword to be sharpened and poisoned and set out.

When he arrived at Al-Madiinah, ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab was sitting among some of the Muslims talking about the Day of Badr. “Umar looked and saw ‘Umair Ibn Wahb, girded with his sword, making his camel kneel at the door of the mosque. “Umar said, "That dog, the enemy of Allah, ‘Umair Ibn Wahb! By Allah, he has come for nothing but evil. It is he who provoked us on the Day of Badr."

“Umar entered and said to the Messenger (PBUH), "O Prophet

of Allah , here is the enemy of Allah, ‘Umair Ibn Wahb come girded with his sword."

The Prophet (PBUH) said, “Let him in." ‘Umar came and took him by the scabbard of his sword round his neck and said to some of the men, "Enter and sit with the Prophet (PBUH) and be cautious of that fellow, he is dishonest." Then ‘Umar entered holding the scabbard of his sword round his neck and when the Prophet saw him, he told ‘Umar to let him alone and said to ‘Umair, "Draw nearer."

“Umair approached and said, "Good morning." That was the salutation in the period of Jahiliyah.

The Prophet (PBUH) said, "Allah has honored us with a better

salutation than yours. It is As-Salaam, the salutation of the believers in Paradise."

“Umair said, "O, Muhammad, by Allah I have heard it recently.”

The Prophet (PBUH) said, "What made you come, ‘Umair?" ~“Umair said, "I have come for the sake of this captive in your hands." The Prophet (PBUH) said, " Tell the truth, ‘Umair, what have you come for ?" ~Umair, "I have come for that purpose." The Prophet (PBUH) said, "But you sat with Safwaan Ibn Umaiyah at Al-Hijir and mentioned those of Al-Qaliib from the Quraish, then you said, were it not for my debts and my children, I would ride and kill Muhammad. Safwaan promised to repay your debts and maintain your children on condition that you kill me, but Allah prevented you from doing so."

At the moment, ‘Umair cried, "I witness that there is no god but Allah and that you are His Prophet. That matter wasn't attended by anyone except Safwaan and me. By Allah, Allah told it to you. Praise be to Allah who guided me to Islam." The Prophet (PBUH) said to his companions, "Teach your brother the religion and how to reach the Qur'aan and set free the prisoner of war."

Thus, ‘Umair Ibn Wahb embraced Islam. Thus, the Satan of Quraish was so overwhelmed by the light of the Prophet (PBUH) and the light of Islam that, in a moment, he embraced Islam and turned into the Disciple of Islam.

“Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab, (May Allah be pleased with him) said,

“By Allah, I hated him more than I hated a pig, when he appeared. But now, I love him more than I love some of my sons."

“Umair sat thinking deeply about the tolerance of this religion and the greatness of its Prophet. He remembered his previous days in Makkah when he was arguing and fighting against Islam before the Hijrah of the Prophet (PBUH) and his Companions to Al-Madiinah. Then he remembered his fighting on the Day of Badr and his coming on this day to kill the Prophet. All that was abolished in a moment of saying, “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger."

What tolerance! What purity, what self confidence that this great religion carries. At such a moment Islam abolished all his previous sins, Muslims forgave all his crimes and hate, opened their hearts and embraced him. Is not he whose sword is still glimmering in front of their eyes, planning with devilish intention to commit the most ignoble deed? All that was forgotten and nothing was mentioned. ‘Umair became in a single moment, one of the Muslims and one of the Prophet's Companions with their tights and duties. Did not he whom “Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab wanted to kill a short time ago become dearer to him than his sons?