The Guards of the Prophet - II

04/06/2013| IslamWeb

Muhammad ibn Maslamah Al-Ansari :

His nickname is Abu ‘Abdullah. He was from the tribe of Bani Harithah, and an ally to the tribe of Bani ‘Abdil-Ash-hal. He was born twenty-two years before the Prophetic mission, and he had ten sons and six daughters. He accepted Islam at the hands of Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umayr when Mus‘ab was in Madeenah. Moreover, the Prophet paired him and Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn Al-Jarrah as brothers –
may Allah be pleased with both of them.

He witnessed Badr and the battles afterwards, and he guarded the Prophet on the day of the Battle of Uhud. It is said that the Prophet appointed him over Madeenah during some of his battles, and that entitled him to lead about fifty-one platoons. He died seventy-seven years old, in forty-three A.H.

Al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah :

He is Al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah ibn Abi ‘Aamir ibn Mas‘ood Ath-Thaqafi. He was among the most shrewd and wise Arabs. He was born and grew up in Thaqeef in At-Taa'if. He accepted Islam in the year of the Battle of the Trench, after he killed thirteen men from the tribe of Bani Malik and took their money after they went with him to Al-Muqawqis in Egypt. His uncle ‘Urwah ibn Mas‘ood was the one who paid their blood money. Then he stayed in Madeenah with the Prophet till he went with him to Al-Hudaybiyyah.

The Quraysh sent Al-Mugheerah’s uncle ‘Urwah ibn Mas‘ood to the Prophet to negotiate with him about reconciliation. ‘Urwah kept talking to the Prophet holding the Prophet's beard as he talked, and Al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah was standing near the head of the Prophet, holding a sword and wearing a helmet. Every time ‘Urwah stretched his hand towards the beard of the Prophet, Al-Mugheerah would hit his hand with the handle of the sword and say (to Urwah), "Remove your hand from the beard of the Messenger of Allah, or it will not return to you again!" ‘Urwah raised his head and asked, "O Muhammad, who is that? How rough he is!" The Prophet replied: "He is your nephew, Al-Mugheerah." Urwah said, "O treacherous one! Am I not doing my best to prevent the evil consequences of your treachery?" referring to what Al-Mugheerah did before accepting Islam. [Al-Bukhari]

Al-Mugheerah witnessed the Ridhwan pledge of allegiance and the battles following it. After the death of the Prophet he witnessed the Battle of Al-Yamamah and the conquests of Ash-Sham (the Levant), and his eye was gouged out in the Battle of Al-Yarmook. ‘Umar appointed Al-Mugheerah over Bahrain, then Al-Basrah, then Al-Koofah, where he stayed as governor till the assassination of ‘Umar .

He died in Al-Koofah in 50 A.H. .

Bilal ibn Rabah Al-Habashi (the Abyssinian) :

His nickname is Abu ‘Abdullah, and he is one of the great Companions of the Prophet . He was among the slaves of the Quraysh who embraced Islam, which led his master Umayyah ibn Khalaf to torture him cruelly. However, Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq bought him and set him free. He was known for his endurance of torture, as he kept saying, "One, One", meaning Allah.

Bilal had a beautiful voice, which was why the Prophet assigned to him the task of performing the Athan (call to prayer). He guarded the Prophet during the Battle of Wadi Al-Qura. In addition to that, he was present in all the military expeditions with the Prophet . He died in Ash-Sham, while fighting in the cause of Allah, and he was buried in Damascus in the year 20 A.H.

It is narrated that when he was dying, his wife said, "Oh, my sorrow!" Thereupon, he said to her, "Do not say ‘Oh, my sorrow’; rather, say ‘Oh, my joy!’" Then he said, "Tomorrow we will meet the loved ones, Muhammad and his Companions."