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AMR
IBN AL-JAMUH Radhia
Allahu Anaha
Amr
ibn al-Jamuh was one of the leading men in Yathrib in the
days of Jahiliyyah. He was the chief of the Banu Salamah
and was known to be one of the most generous and valiant
persons in the city.
One
of the privileges of the city's leaders was having an idol
to himself in his house. It was hoped that this idol would
bless the leader in whatever he did. He was expected to
offer sacrifices to it on special occasions and seek its
help at times of distress. The idol of Amr was called
Manat. He had made it from the most priceless wood. He
spent a great deal of time, money and attention looking
after it and he annointed it with the most exquisite
perfumes.
Amr
was almost sixty years old when the first rays of the
light of Islam began to penetrate the houses of Yathrib.
House after house was introduced to the new faith at the
hands of Mus'ab ibn Umayr, the first missionary sent out
to Yathrib before the hijrah. It was through him that
Amr's three sonsÑMuawwadh, Muadh and KhalladÑbecame
Muslims. One of their contemporaries was the famous Muadh
ibn Jabal. Amr's wife, Hind, also accepted Islam with her
three sons but Amr himself knew nothing of all this.
Hind
saw that the people of Yathrib were being won over to
Islam and that not one of the leaders of the city remained
in shirk except her husband and a few individuals. She
loved her husband dearly and was proud of him but she was
concerned that he should die in a state of kufr and end up
in hell-fire.
During
this time, Amr himself began to feel uneasy. He was afraid
that his sons would give up the religion of their
forefathers and follow the teaching of Mus'ab ibn Umayr
who, within a short space of time, had caused many to turn
away from idolatory and enter the religion of Muhammad. To
his wife, Amr therefore said:
"Be
careful that your children do not come into contact with
this man (meaning Mus'ab ibn Umayr) before we pronounce an
opinion on him."
"To
hear is to obey," she replied. "But would you
like to hear from your son Muadh what he relates from this
man?"
"Woe
to you! Has Muadh turned away from his religion without my
knowing?"
The
good woman felt pity for the old man and said:
"Not
at all. But he has attended some of the meetings of this
missionary and memorized some of the things he
teaches."
"Tell
him to come here," he said. When Muadh came, he
ordered:
"Let
me hear an example of what this man preaches." Muadh
recited the FatEhah (the Opening Chapter of the
Qur'an):"
"In
the name of God, the most Gracious, the Dispenser of
Grace. All praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of
all the worlds, The most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace.
Lord of the Day of Judgment! You alone do we worship and
to You alone do we turn for help. Guide us on the straight
way, the way of those upon whom you have bestowed Your
blessings, not of those who have been condemned by You,
nor of those who go astray."
"How
perfect are these words, and how beautiful!"
exclaimed the father. "Is everything he says like
this?"
"Yes
indeed, father. Do you wish to swear allegiance to him?
All your people have already done so" urged Muadh.
The
old man remained silent for a while and then said, "I
shall not do so until I consult Manat and see what he
says."
"What
indeed would Manat say, Father? It is only a piece of
wood. It can neither think nor speak."
The
old man retorted sharply, "I told you, I shall not do
anything without him."
Later
that day, Amr went before Manat. It was the custom of the
idolators then to place an old woman behind the idol when
they wished to speak to it. She would reply on behalf of
the idol, articulating, so they thought, what the idol had
inspired her to say. Amr stood before the idol in great
awe and addressed profuse praises to it. Then he said:
"O
Manat, no doubt you know that this propagandist who was
delegated to come to us from Makkah does not wish evil on
anyone but you. He has come only to stop us worshipping
you. I do not want to swear allegiance to him in spite of
the beautiful words I have heard from him. I have thus
come to get your advice. So please advise me."
There
was no reply from Manat. Amr continued:
"Perhaps
you are angry. But up till now, I have done nothing to
harm you . . . Never mind, I shall leave you for a few
days to let your anger go away."
Amr's
sons knew the extent of their father's dependence on Manat
and how with time he had become almost a part of it. They
realised however that the idol's place in his heart was
being shaken and that they had to help him get rid of
Manat. That must be h is path to faith in God.
One
night Amr's sons went with their friend Muadh ibn Jabal to
Manat, took the idol from its place and threw it in a cess
pit belonging to the Banu Salamah. They returned to their
homes with no one knowing anything about what they had
done. When Amr woke up the following morning, he went in
quiet reverence to pay his respects to his idol but did
not find it.
"Woe
to you all," he shouted. "Who has attacked our
god last night?"
There
was no reply from anyone. He began to search for the idol,
fuming with rage and threatening the perpetrators of the
crime. Eventually he found the idol turned upside down on
its head in the pit. He washed and perfumed it and
returned it to its usual place saying. "If I find out
who did this to you, I will humiliate him."
The
following night the boys did the same to the idol. The old
man recovered it, washed and perfumed it as he had done
before and returned it to its place. This happened several
times until one night Amr put a sword around the idol's
neck and said to it:
"O
Manat, I don't know who is doing this to you. If you have
any power of good in you, defend yourself against this
evil. Here is a sword for you."
The
youths waited until Amr was fast asleep. They took the
sword from the idol's neck and threw it into the pit. Amr
found the idol lying face down in the pit with the sword
nowhere in sight. At last he was convinced that the idol
had no power at all and did not deserve to be worshipped.
It was not long before he entered the religion of Islam.
Amr
soon tasted the sweetness of iman or faith in the One True
God. At the same time he felt great pain and anguish
within himself at the thought of every moment he had spent
in shirk. His acceptance of the new religion was total and
he placed himself, his wealth and his children in the
service of God and His Prophet.
The
extent of his devotion was shown during the time of the
battle of Uhud. Amr saw his three sons preparing for the
battle. He looked at the three determined young men fired
by the desire to gain martyrdom, success and the pleasure
of God. The scene had a great effect on him and he
resolved to go out with them to wage jihad under the
banner of the messenger of God. The youths, however, were
all against their father carrying out his resolve. He was
already quite old and was extremely weak.
"Father,"
they said, "surely God has excused you. So why do you
take this burden on yourself?"
The
old man became quite angry and went straight away to the
Prophet to complain about his sons:
"O
Rasulullah! My sons here want to keep me away from this
source of goodness arguing that I am old and decrepit. By
God, I long to attain Paradise this way even though I am
old and infirm."
"Let
him," said the Prophet to his sons. "Perhaps
God, the Mighty and the Great, will grant him martyrdom.'
Soon
it was time to go out to battle. Amr bade farewell to his
wife, turned to the qiblah and prayed:
"O
Lord, grant me martyrdom and don't send me back to my
family with my hopes dashed."
He
set out in the company of his three sons and a large
contingent from his tribe, the Banu Salamah.
As
the battle raged, Amr could be seen moving in the front
ranks, jumping on his good leg (his other leg was
partially lame), and shouting,
"I
desire Paradise, I desire Paradise."
His
son Khallad remained closely behind him and they both
fought courageously in defence of the Prophet while many
other Muslims deserted in pursuit of booty. Father and son
fell on the battlefield and died within moments of each
other.
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