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Muhammad
ibn Maslamah
Black, tall and sturdy, Muhammad ibn
Maslamah towered above his contemporaries. He was a giant
among the companions of the Prophet, a giant in body and a
giant in deeds.
Significantly he was called Muhammad
even before he became a Muslim. It would seem that his
name was itself a pointer to the fact that he was among
the first of the Yathribites to become a Muslim and to
follow the teachings of the great Prophet. (The name
Muhammad was practically unknown at the time but since the
Prophet encouraged Muslims to name themselves after him,
it has become one of the most widely used names in the
world.)
Muhammad ibn Maslamah was a halif or an
ally of the Aws tribe in Madinah indicating that he
himself was not an Arab. He became a Muslim at the hands
of Musab ibn Umayr, the first missionary sent out by the
Prophet from Makkah to Madinah. He accepted Islam even
before men like Usayd ibn Hudayr and Sad ibn Muadh who
were influential men in the city.
When the Prophet, peace be on him, came
to Madinah, he adopted the unique method of strengthening
the bonds of brotherhood between the Muhajirin and the
Ansar. He paired off each Muhajir with one of the Ansar.
This arrangement also helped to relieve the immediate
needs of the Muhajirin for shelter and food and created an
integrated community of believers.
The Prophet was a keen observer of
character and temperament and was concerned to join in
brotherhood persons of similar attitudes and tastes. He
joined in brotherhood Muhammad ibn Maslamah and Abu
Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah. Like Abu Ubaydah, Muhammad ibn
Maslamah was quiet and pensive and had a strong sense of
trust and devotion. He was also brave and resolute in
action. He was a distinguished horseman who performed
feats of heroism and sacrifice in the service of Islam.
Muhammad ibn Maslamah took part in all
the military engagements of the Prophet except the
expedition to Tabuk. On that occasion, he and Ali were put
in charge of an army which was left behind to protect
Madinah. Later in life, he would often relate scenes of
these battles to his ten children.
There are many instances in the life of
Muhammad ibn Maslamah which showed what a dependable and
trustworthy person he was. Before the start of hostilities
at the Battle of Uhud, the Prophet and the Muslim force
numbering some seven hundred persons spent a night in an
open camp. He put fifty men under the command of Muhammad
ibn Maslamah and entrusted him with the task of patrolling
the camp the whole night. During the battle itself, after
the disastrous rout of the Muslims by the Quraysh during
which about seventy Muslims lost their lives and many fled
in every possible direction, a small band of the faithful
bravely defended the Prophet till the tide of battle
turned. Muhammad ibn Maslamah was among them.
Muhammad ibn Maslamah was quick to
respond to the call of action. He once stood listening to
the Prophet as he spoke to the Muslims about the designs
of some of the Jewish leaders in the region.
At the beginning of his stay in Madinah,
the Prophet had concluded an agreement with the Jews of
the city which said in part:
"The Jews who attach themselves to
our commonwealth shall be protected from all insults and
harassment. They shall have equal rights as our own people
to our assistance...They shall join the Muslims in
defending Madinah against all enemies...They shall not
declare war nor enter in treaty or agreement against the
Muslims."
Jewish leaders had violated this
agreement by encouraging the Quraysh and tribes around
Madinah in their designs against the state. They were also
bent on creating discord among the people of Madinah in
order to weaken the influence of Islam.
After the resounding victory of the
Muslims over the Quraysh at the Battle of Badr, one of the
three main Jewish groups in Madinah, the Banu Qaynuqa was
especially furious and issued a petulant challenge to the
Prophet. They said:
"O Muhammad! You really think that
we are like your people (the Quraysh)? Don't be deceived.
You confronted a people who have no knowledge of war and
you took the chance to rout them. If you were to fight
against us you would indeed know that we arc men."
They thus spurned their agreement with
the Prophet and issued an open challenge to fight. The
Qaynuqa however were goldsmiths who dominated the market
in Madinah. They were depending on their allies, the
Khazraj, to help them in their declared war. The Khazraj
refused. The Prophet placed the Banu Qaynuqa's quarters
under a siege which lasted for fifteen nights. The
fainthearted Qaynuqa finally decided to surrender and ask
the Prophet for a free passage out of Madinah.
The Prophet allowed them to leave and
the tribe - men, women and children - left unharmed. They
had to leave behind them their arms and their goldsmith's
equipment. They settled down at Adhraat in Syria.
The departure of the Qaynuqa did not end
Jewish feelings of animosity towards the Prophet although
the nonaggression agreement was still in force. One of
those who was consumed with hatred against the Prophet and
the Muslims and who openly gave vent to his rage was Kab
ibn al-Ashraf.
Kab's father was in fact an Arab who had
fled to Madinah after committing a crime. He became an
ally of the Banu Nadir, another important Jewish group,
and married a Jewish lady name Aqilah bint Abu-l Haqiq.
She was Kab's mother.
Kab was a tall and impressive looking
person. He was a well-known poet and was one of the
richest men among the Jews. He lived in a castle on the
outskirts of Madinah where he had extensive palm groves.
He was regarded as a Jewish leader of importance
throughout the Hijaz. He provided means of support and
sponsorship to many Jewish rabbis.
Kab was openly hostile to Islam. He
lampooned the Prophet, besmirched in verse the reputation
of Muslim women, and incited the tribes in and around
Madinah against the Prophet and Islam. He was particularly
distressed when he heard the news of the Muslim victory at
Badr. When he saw the returning army with the Quraysh
prisoners of war, he was bitter and furious. He took it
upon himself then to make the long journey to Makkah to
express his grief and to incite the Quraysh to take
further revenge. He also went to other areas, from tribe
to tribe, urging people to take up arms against the
Prophet. News of his activities reached the Prophet, peace
be on him, who prayed: "O Lord, rid me of the son of
Ashfar, however You wish."
Kab had become a real danger to the
state of peace and mutual trust which the Prophet was
struggling to achieve in Madinah.
Kab returned to Madinah and continued
his verbal attacks on the Prophet and his abuse of Muslim
women. He refused, after warnings from the Prophet, to
stop his dirty campaign and sinister intrigues. He was
bent on fomenting a revolt against the Prophet and the
Muslims in Madinah. By all these actions, Kab had openly
declared war against the Prophet. He was dangerous and a
public enemy to the nascent Muslim state. The Prophet was
quite exasperated with him and said to the Muslims:
"Who will deal with Kab ibn al-Ashraf? He has
offended God and His Apostle."
"I shall deal with him for you, O
Messenger of God," volunteered Muhammad ibn Maslamah.
This, however, was no easy undertaking.
Muhammad ibn Maslamah, according to one report, went home
and stayed for three days without either eating or
drinking, just thinking about what he had to do. The
Prophet heard of this, called him and asked him why he had
not been eating or drinking. He replied: "O Messenger
of God, I gave an undertaking to you but I do not know
whether I can accomplish it or not." "Your duty
is only to try your utmost," replied the Prophet.
Muhammad ibn Maslamah then went to some
other companions of the Prophet and told them what he had
undertaken to do. They included Abu Nailah, a foster
brother of Kab ibn al-Ahsraf. They agreed to help him and
he devised a plan to accomplish the mission. They went
back to the Prophet to seek his approval since the plan
involved enticing Kab from his fortress residence through
some deception. The Prophet gave his consent on the
principle that war involved deceit.
Both Muhammad ibn Maslamah who was in
fact a nephew of Kab by fosterage and Abu Nailah then went
to Kab's residence. Muhammad ibn Maslamah was the first to
speak: "This man (meaning the Prophet, peace be on
him) has asked us for sadaqah (charitable tax) and we
cannot even find food to eat. He is oppressing us with his
laws and prohibitions and I thought I could come to you to
ask for a loan."
"By God, I am much more
dissatisfied with him," confessed Kab. "We have
followed him but we do not want to leave him until we see
how this whole business will end. We would like you to
lend us a wasaq or two of gold," continued Muhammad
ibn Maslamah.
"Isn't it about time that you
realize what falsehood you are tolerating from him? asked
Kab as he promised to give them the loan.
"However," he said, "you must provide
security (for the loan)."
"What security do you want?"
they asked. "Give me your wives as security," he
suggested. "How can we give you our wives as security
," they protested, "when you are the most
handsome of Arabs?"
"Then give me your children as
security," Kab suggested. "How can we give you
our children as security when any one of them would
thereafter be ridiculed by being called a hostage for one
or two wasaqs of gold. This would be a disgrace to us. But
we could give you our (means of) protection (meaning
weapons) since you know that we need them."
Kab agreed to this suggestion which they
had made to disabuse his mind of any notion that they had
come armed. They promised to come back to him again to
bring the weapons.
Meanwhile, Abu Nailah also came up to
Kab and said: "Woe to you, Ibn Ashraf. I have come to
you intending to mention something to you and you do not
encourage me." Kab asked him to go on and Abu Nailah
said: "The coming of this man to us has been a source
of affliction to our Arab customs. With one shot he has
severed our ways and left families hungry and in
difficulties. We and our families are struggling."
Kab replied: "I, Ibn al-Ashraf, by God, I had told
you, son of Salamah, that the matter would end up as I
predicted." Abu Nailah replied: "I wish you
could sell us some food and we would give you whatever
form of security and trust required. Be good to us. I have
friends who share my views on this and I want to bring
them to you so that you could sell them some food and deal
well towards them. We will come to you and pledge our
shields and weapons to you as security." "There
is loyalty and good faith in weapons," agreed Kab.
With this they left promising to return
and bring the required security for the loan. They went
back to the Prophet and reported to him what had happened.
That night, Muhammad ibn Maslamah, Abu Nailah, Abbad ibn
Bisnr, Al-Harith ibn Aws and Abu Abasah ibn Jabr all set
off for Kabs house. The Prophet went with them for a short
distance and parted with the words:
"Go forth in the name of God."
And he prayed: "O Lord, help them." The Prophet
returned home. It was a moonlit night in the month of Rabi
al-Awwal in the third year of the hijrah.
Muhammad ibn Maslamah and the four with
him reached Kab's house. They called out to him. As he got
out of bed, his wife held him and warned: "You are a
man at war. People at war do not go down at such an
hour." "It is only my nephew Muhammad ibn
Maslamah and my foster brother, Abu Nailah..." Kab
came down with his sword drawn. He was heavily scented
with the perfume of musk.
"I have not smelt such a pleasant
scent as today," greeted Muhammad ibn Maslamah.
"Let me smell your head." Kab agreed and as
Muhammad bent over, he grasped Kab's head firmly and
called on the others to strike down the enemy of God.
(Details of this incident vary somewhat.
Some reports state that it was Abu Nailah who gave the
command to strike down Kab and this was done after Kab had
emerged from his house and walked with them for some time.
)
The elimination of Kab ibn al-Ashraf
struck terror into the hearts of those, and there were
many of them in Madinah, who plotted and intrigued against
the Prophet. Such open hostility as Kab's diminished for a
time but certainly did not cease.
At the beginning of the fourth year of
the hijrah, the Prophet went to the Jewish tribe of Banu
Nadir on the outskirts of Madinah to seek their help on a
certain matter. While among them, he found out that they
were planning to kill him then and there. He had to take
decisive action. The Banu Nadir had gone too far. Straight
away, the Prophet went back to the center of the city. He
summoned Muhammad ibn Maslamah and sent him to inform the
Banu Nadir that they had to leave Madinah within ten days
because of their treacherous behavior and that any one of
them seen after that in the city would forfeit his life.
One can just imagine Muhammad ibn
Maslamah addressing the Banu Nadir. His towering stature
and his loud and clear voice combined to let the Banu
Nadir know that the Prophet meant every word he said and
that they had to stand the consequences of their
treacherous acts. The fact that the Prophet chose Muhammad
ibn Maslamah for the task is a tribute to his loyalty,
courage and firmness.
Further details of the expulsion of the
Banu Nadir from Madinah do not concern us here: their plan
to resist the Prophet with outside help; the Prophet's
siege of their district and their eventual surrender and
evacuation mainly to Khaybar in the north. Two of the Banu
Nadir though became MusIims - Yamin ibn Umayr and Abu Sad
ibn Wahb. Ali this happened exactly one year after the
elimination of Kab ibn al-Ashraf.
Both during the time of the Prophet and
after, Muhammad ibn Maslamah was known for carrying out
any assignment he accepted exactly as he was ordered,
neither doing more nor less than he was asked to do. It
was these qualities which made Umar choose him as one of
his ministers and as a trusted friend and guide.
When Amr ibn al-Aas requested
reinforcements during his expedition to Egypt, Umar sent
him four detachments of one thousand men each. Leading
these detachments were Muhammad ibn Maslamah, az-Zubayr
ibn aI-Awwam, Ubadah ibn as-Samit and al-Miqdad ibn
al-Aswad. To Amr, Umar sent a message saying, "Let me
remind you that I am sending Muhammad ibn Maslamah to you
to help you distribute your wealth. Accommodate him and
forgive any harshness of his towards you."
Ibn Maslamah went to Amr in Fustat (near
present-day Cairo).. He sat at his table but did not touch
the food. Amr asked him: "Did Umar prevent you from
tasting my food?" "No," replied ibn
Maslamah, "he did not prevent me from having your
food but neither did he command me to eat of it." He
then placed a flat loaf of bread on the table and ate it
with salt. Amr became upset and said: "May God bring
to an end the time in which we work for Umar ibn
al-Khattab! I have witnessed a time when al-Khattab and
his son Umar were wandering around wearing clothes which
could not even cover them properly while Al-Aas ibn Wail
(Amr's father) sported brocade lined with gold..."
"As for your father and the father
of Umar, they are in hell," retorted Muhammad ibn
Maslamah, because they did not accept Islam. "As for
you, if Umar did not give you an appointment, you would
have been pleased with what you got from their
udders," continued Ibn Maslamah obviously disabusing
Amr's mind of any ideas he might have of appearing
superior because he was the governor of Egypt.
"Assemblies must be conducted as a
form of trust," said Amr in an attempt to diffuse the
situation and Muhammad ibn Maslamah replied: "Oh yes,
so long as Umar is alive." He wanted to impress upon
people the justice of Umar and the egalitarian teachings
of Islam. Muhammad ibn Maslamah was a veritable scourge
against all arrogant and haughty behavior.
On another occasion and at another end
of the Muslim state under his caliphate, Umar heard that
the famous Sad ibn Abi Waqqas was building a palace at
Kufa. Umar sent Muhammad ibn Maslamah to deal with the
situation. On reaching Kufa, Muhammad promptly burnt the
palace down. One does not know whether people were more
surprised by the instructions of Umar or by the
humiliation of Sad ibn Abi Waqqas, the famed fighter,
conqueror at Qadisiyyah, and the one praised by the
Prophet himself for his sacrifices at Uhud.
Sad did not say a word. This was all
part of the great process of self-criticism and
rectification which helped to make Islam spread and
establish it on foundations of justice and piety.
Muhammad ibn Maslamah served Umar's
successor, Uthman ibn Allan, faithfully. When, however,
the latter was killed and civil war broke out among the
Muslims, Muhammad ibn Maslamah did not participate. The
sword which he always used and which was given to him by
the Prophet himself he deliberately broke. During the time
of the Prophet, he was known as the "Knight of the
Prophet". By refusing to use the sword against
Muslims he preserved this reputation undiminished.
Subsequently, he made a sword from wood
and fashioned it well. He placed it in a scabbard and hung
it inside his house. When he was asked about it he said:
"I simply hang it there to terrify people."
Muhammad ibn Maslamah died in Madinah in the month of
Safar in the year 46 AH. He was seventy seven years old.
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