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Abu
Ayyub Al Ansari
Khalid ibn Zayd ibn Kulayb, known as
Abu Ayyub Al Ansari, came from the Banu Najjar, and was a
dear and close companion of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH).
He enjoyed a great privilege many of the Ansar in Madinah
dreamt of having.
When Prophet Mohamed (PBUH), reached Madinah after the
Hijrah from Makkah, the Ansar of Madinah greeted him with
great enthusiasm, love and longing. Their hearts betted
for him and their eyes surrounded him with great
admiration and love. They wanted to receive him with the
most hospital reception they could give.
Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) entered Madinah on his camel. The
chieftains of Madinah walked next to him, each and every
one of them hoping to get the honor of Prophet Mohamed’s
stay at his house. They stood in the way of the procession
and addressed the Prophet saying " O Messenger of
Allah, please do accept our hospitable accommodation, for
we are influential people who are great in number and
wealth. We can also guarantee your support and
protection.”
Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) mildly urged them to get out of the
way of the camel, for it was ordered by Allah to stop at a
certain place.
The camel stopped at an open space in front of the house
of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari. But Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) did not
get off the camel. After a few minutes, the camel started
moving once again, however, it turned around, retraced its
steps and kneeled in the same place where it stopped
before. Abu Ayyub’s face shone with joy and
satisfaction. He went out to Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) and
greeted him with great enthusiasm. He took the Prophet's
baggage in his arms and carried them so close to his heart
as if he was carrying the most precious treasure in the
world.
It was not the first meeting between Prophet Mohamed
(PBUH) and Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari. They had met before when
the Madinah delegation journeyed to Makkah to take the
oath of allegiance to the Prophet (PBUH).
Abu Ayyub's house had two floors. He prepared the upper
floor for Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) to stay in. however
Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) preferred to stay on the lower one.
Night came and Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) went to sleep. Abu
Ayyub ascended to his room, but when he closed the door,
he shook with regret and told his wife:
"Woe to us! What have we done? The messenger of God
is below and we are higher than him! Can we walk on top of
the messenger of God? Are we standing between him and the
Revelation? If so, we are doomed."
They were extremely worried, and had no idea what to do.
They got some peace of mind when they moved to the other
side of the building where they were not above Prophet
Mohamed (PBUH).
In the morning, Abu Ayyub said to the Prophet(PBUH):
"By God, we did not sleep all last night, neither
myself nor Umm Ayyub."
"Why not, Abu Ayyub?" asked the Prophet.
Abu Ayyub told him how terrible they felt because he was
staying below them.
"Don't worry, Abu Ayyub," said the Prophet.
"We prefer the lower floor because we have a lot of
visitors.”
"We submitted to the Prophet's wishes," Abu
Ayyub related, "until one cold night, the roof was
damaged and the water spilled on the upper floor. Umm
Ayyub and I stared at the water. We only had one piece of
velvet, which we used as a blanket. We used it to wipe the
water fearing it would seep through to the Prophet. In the
morning I went to him and said, 'I do not like to be above
you,' and told him what had happened. He respected my wish
and we exchanged floors."
The Prophet (PBUH) stayed in Abu Ayyub's house for about
seven months until his mosque and his dwelling were built.
Thus, he became the neighbor of Abu Ayyub.
Abu Ayyub loved Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) with all his heart
and the Prophet also loved him dearly. There was no
formality between them. The Prophet (PBUH) continued to
regard Abu Ayyub's house as his own.
These are glimpses of Abu Ayyub's life during peacetime,
but ever since the Quraish tribe began to fight against
Islam, to raid Al-Madinah, the land of Hijrah, and to
instigate tribes and organize armies to eliminate Islam,
Abu Ayyub became a professional in warfare. He was in the
front rows in Badr, Uhud, Al-Khandaq and the rest of the
battles and wars. He devoted himself, his money, and
property to Allah.
He did not stay away from any battle the Muslims fought
from the time of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) till the time of
Mu'awiyah unless he was engaged at the same time in
another.
Even after Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) died, Abu Ayyub never
turned his back on a battle that the Muslims were destined
to fight in.
The slogan that he kept reciting to himself day and night,
secretly and openly was that verse of the Qur’an
“March forth, whether you are light or heavy”.
He never missed an expedition, except once. He refused to
fight in an army, which was lead by a young Muslim
assigned by the caliph. Abu Ayyub rejected this choice.
This one and only mistake shook his innermost self, and he
was always full of regrets as he repeated, “It is none
of my concern whoever Ali appoints.” Ever since he made
this mistake, he never missed a battle.
It sufficed him to live as a soldier in the Muslim army,
fight under its slogan, and defend its sanctity.
The last battle Abu Ayyub took part in was the one
prepared by Mu'awiyah and led by his son Yazid against
Constantinople. Abu Ayyub at that time was a very old man,
almost eighty years old. But that did not prevent him from
joining the army and crossing the seas as a graze in the
path of God. In this particular battle, he was wounded.
The commander of the army went to check on him. He was
breathing heavily as if his longing to meet Allah made him
impatient with the few minutes left in his life. The
commander, Yazid Ibn Mu’aawiyah, asked him, "Do you
need anything, Abu Ayyub?"
I wonder if any of you can imagine what Abu Ayyub’s last
wish was?
He asked Yazid to carry his body to the furthest point
inside the enemy lands and bury him there, then to break
through the enemy line until he reached his grave so that
Abu Ayyub might hear the sound of the galloping Muslim
horses clattering over it and realize that they have
achieved victory. Do you think this is poetic verse? No,
this not a poetic verse nor a whim of imagination. It
really happened. It is a fact that the whole world
witnessed one day, and stood there watching and listening,
not believing that this could be true. Yazid carried out
Abu Ayyub’s will to the fullest extent.
Finally, the body of this great warrior was buried in the
heart of Constantinople — Istanbul nowadays.
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