Part 99

All of sudden, Abu al-As said, I did not come to Madina as a warrior but as a merchant. Nevertheless, a squad belonging to your father obstructed us and robbed my caravan as spoil of war. But I managed to escape. I came to you seeking your intercession on the part of Muslims. Zaynab said, welcome my cousin, welcome father of Ali and Umama. She went forward to the Prophet (pbuh) after he

had performed the dawn prayer. She shouted, "O people, I patroniz Abu alAs Ibn ar-Rabie’."

Thereupon the Prophet "pbuh) went out and said, "O people did you hear what I heard?" They replied, "Yes, Messenger o Allah." Then, he said,

"By Whom in Whose Hand is Muhammad's soul I had not known anything about that before I heard what you heard. Muslims are one party against others. They permit the patronage of any one of them, however lower. Thus, we patronize whoever she patronized."

Then, the Messenger of Allah went to his daughter's home and said, "Be hospitable towards him but do not be alone with him since you are not lawful to him."

Zaynab asked her father (pbuh) to give Abu al-’As his property back. Accordingly, the Prophet (pbuh) went to his companions and said, "you know this man, whose property you took. I would like to give him back his property. But if you do not like to do that, it will be your booty given to you by Allah." Then, they all replied, "We would like to give it back, Messenger of Allah."

Afterwards, Abu alAs bid farewell to Zanyab and set out for Makka. Having arrived there with his prosperous caravan, he began to give back what he had taken from people. Then, he stood and shouted, "O people of Quraish, is there any one who indebts me?" They replied, no, you are loyal and generous. Then, he said, "I testify that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. By Allah, I was about to embrace Islam before that time, but I feared that you might say that he wanted to misappropriate our property. But when Allah helped me give it back to you I embraced Islam."

Accordingly, Abu al--As went forward to Madina to join the Muslim community. There the Prophet (pbuh) returned Zaynab to him. The spouse met again and continued living in happinness and felecity under the shade of an unblemished belief.

A year later, Zaynab died affected by her fall from the previous year when she was about to emigrate for Madina but Quraish obstructed her. Abu al-As became so sad that he caused the people at her funeral to weep. Then came the Prophet (pbuh), her father to bid farewell to her. He said to the women, "Wash her thrice or five times and let the last wash be mixed with comphor and tell me when you finish." Having washed her, he prayed over her (my Allah have mercy on Zaynab, daughter of the Messenger of Allah).

Ruqayyah was born after Zaynab. She was soon followed by Umm Kulthum. Therefore, they were brought up together. When Rugayyah and Umm Kulthum grew, they were betrothed to ‘Abdel-'Uzza ibn ‘ Abdel-Muttalib's (Abu Lahab) two sons: ‘Utbah and ‘Utaibah.

Muhammad (pbuh) was not a Messenger by then. He accepted their proposal but he asked them first to give him a time to consult his family and his two daughters. Khadija kept silent lest she might annoy her husband. The two girls kept also silent out of shyness. Thereby, they concluded their betrothal. i

No sooner was Muhammad sent as a Messenger and began to call for the religion of truth than the people of Quraish gathered together to conspire against the Prophet (pbuh). One of them said, "You took charge of Muhammad's responsibilities. You have, on the contrary, to retum his daughters to him. Accordingly, Abu Lahab said, to his two sons, "I will deprive you of my fatherhood, if you do not divorce Muhammad's two daughters." Thereby, they divorced the two girls before the consumation of marriage. Furthermore, Abu Lahab and his wife Umm Jamil began to bring harm to the Prophet (pbuh) to the extent that they entailed Allah's curse and wrath. Allah the Almighty says,

Perish the hands of the father of flame! Perish he! No profit to him from all his wealth, and all his gains! Burnt soon will he be in a Fire of blazing Flame! His wife shall carry the (crackling) wood as fuel! A twisted rope of palm-leaf fibre round her

However, the Prophet and his daughters did not bother about what they faced of hardships because they knew well the nature of the new faith. As usual, what the disbeliever's make of tricks always go in vain. In addition to being saved from living with Abu Lahab's son, she got married to one of the first eight people to enter Islam:

“Uthman Ibn ‘Affan Tbn Abu al-‘As Ibn Umayyah Ibn ‘Abd Shams who was also one of the ten informed people to enter Paradise.

When the people of Quraish increased their torture against the Mushms, the Prophet (pbuh) permitted his: companions, to immigrate to

“Uthman and his wife were among the immigrants to Abyssinia, although they recently married. They lived there peacefully hoping to return to Makka to be in the vicinity of the Prophet (pbuh) and his companions.

As soon as they heard that Hamzah and ‘Umar had embraced Islam, they preferred to go back. When they went home, they again faced the atheists' persecution. In addition to that, Ruqqayyah was surprised by the death of her mother, Khadija (may Alalh be pleased with her).

The Prophet, then, decreed mass migration to Madina. Ruqayyah accompanied by her husband were amongst the immigrants to Madina. There, she gave birth to a child called “Abdullah. But the child died

Rugayyah had a fatal fever and ‘Uthman stayed at home nursing her. Then the battle of Badr occurred but the Prophet gave permission to ‘Uthman to stay home to nurse Ruqayyah.

The disease was so fatal that she passed away as a patient and an immigrant wife. May Allah have mercy on her.

She was Fatima az-Zahra bint Muhammad (pbuh). She was the fourth daughter of the Prophet (pbuh). She was born to the Prophet (pbuh) and his wife (Khadija) five years before the Prophethood of her father ie, eighteen years, before the Hijra) With Maryam ('Isa's mother), Khadija, Asiyah (Pharoh's wife), Fatima was the purest and best of womenkind.

She (May Allah be pleased with her) was brought up in the Prophet's home. Thus, she acquired the good manners of her parents. When she was five years there happened a great change in her father's life, he was sent as a Messenger to all of mankind. She felt, in the very early years of her life, that she should shoulder burdens of the new faith with her father. She suffered a lot of hardships and troubles because of the atheists' tricks done to her father. Among the severe troubles that she faced was the siege in the valley of Abu Talib where she suffered the pain of hunger and thirst side by side with her father and Muslims.

No sooner did she get rid of such siege than she was afflicted by the death of her mother, Khadija (may Allah be pleased with her). However, she stood by her father, the noble Prophet to compensate him for the loss of her mother.

After the Prophet (pbuh) had decreed the mass migration, she and her sister, Umm Kulthum stayed at Makka until the Prophet sent a companion to bring them. She was eighteen years by then. Many great companions betrothed her, like Abu Bakr and ‘Umar but the Prophet (pbuh) kindly apologized. Then came Ali Ibn Abu Talib to betroth her. The Prophet (pbuh) gave her to Ali in marriage when she was eighteen years old. Ali had nothing to pay as dowry but a shield, which was the Prophet's gift to him.

Ali sold his shield to ‘Uthman in return for four hundred and seventy dithams, in order to give the price as a dowry to the Prophet

(pbuh). Then the Prophet paid the dowry to Bilal in order to buy some perfume and give the rest to Umm Salama to buy the bride's luggage.

Afterwards, the Prophet (pbuh) invited his companions and made the wedding banquet. After Isha’ prayer, the Prophet went to the bride and her groom. He asked for water. Then he made ablution and poured the water upon them. He said,

"O Allah, may you bless them, make blessing be upon them and bless their offspring."

A year later, Fatima gave birth to the first grandson to the Prophet (pbuh), Al-Hasan Ibn “Ali in the third year after Hijra. The Prophet (pbuh) was pleased and uttered adhan (call to prayer) in his ear. He also chewed a date and rubbed the newborn mouth. He called him al-Hasan, shaved his hair and gave away in charity silver equal to the weight of the hair. A year later, Fatima gave birth to al-Hussain in the fourth year of Hijra. The Prophet (pbuh) was very, sentimentally, close to AlHassan and his brother al-Hussain.

When Allah the Almighty revealed,

ayant coke San wg cy te 26 ae She Lege ayia! Gals obs) Ad gol ie oa % ae 28 ee)

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€And Allah only wishes to remove all abomination

from your, ye Members of the Family, and to make

you pure and spotless.

Once, the Prophet (pbuh) was at Umm Salama home. He called Ali, Fatima, al-Hassan and al-Hussain and covered them with garment, saying,

"O Allah! Those are my household. O Allah! May

you remove all abomination from them and make

them pure and spotless." He repeated it thrice. Then, he said, "O Allah! May You make Your

prayers and blessings be upon the household of Ibrahim You are praiseworthy and Glorious."

In the fifth of Hijra, Fatima and ‘Ali were blessed by a girl whom the Prophet (pbuh), her grandfather, called Zaynab. Two years later, Fatima gave birth to a girl whom the Prophet also called Umm

Hence, Allah the Almighty blessed Fatima with extending the Prophet's (Pbuh) offspring. When the Prophet (pbuh) returned from a journey he used to pray two rak’ats in the mosque and then visit Fatima before his wives.’ Aisha, the mother of the believers said,

"I have never seen someone who is like the Prophet (pbuh) in speech than Fatima. He is used to kissing her when she comes and so does she." Once the Prophet expressed his love to her while he was on a minbar; he said, "Fatima is a part of me; whoever annoys her annoys me."