Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith
Rarely can one find a closer bond
between two persons such as existed between Muhammad the
son of Abdullah and Abu Sufyan the son of al-Harith. (This
Abu Sufyan of course was not the same as Abu Sufyan ibn
Harb, the powerful Quraysh chieftain.)
Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith was born about
the same time as the blessed Prophet. They resembled each
other a great deal. They grew up together and for a time
lived in the same household. Abu Sufyan was a cousin of
the Prophet. His father, al-Harith, was the brother of
Abdullah; both were sons of Abd al-Muttalib.
Abu Sufyan was also a foster-brother of
the Prophet. He was for a short time nursed by the lady
Halimah who looked after the young Muhammad in the tough
and bracing atmosphere of the desert.
In their childhood and youth, Abu Sufyan
and Muhammad were close and intimate friends. So close
were they, that one might naturally have expected Abu
Sufyan to have been among the first to respond to the call
of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and follow
wholeheartedly the religion of truth. But this was not to
be, at least not for many, many years.
From the time the Prophet made public
his call to Islam and first issued the warning to members
of his clan about the dangers of continuing in their
existing state of unbelief, injustice and immorality, the
fire of envy and hatred erupted in the breast of Abu
Sufyan. The bonds of kinship snapped. Where once there was
love and friendship, there was now revulsion and hate.
Where once there was brotherhood, there was now resistance
and opposition.
Abu Sufyan at this time was renowned as
one of the best fighters and horsemen of the Quraysh and
one of their most accomplished poets. He used both sword
and tongue in the battle against the Prophet and his
mission. All his energies were mobilized in denouncing
Islam and persecuting the Muslims. In whatever battle the
Quraysh fought against the Prophet and whatever torture
and persecution they meted out to the Muslims Abu Sufyan
had a part to play. He composed and recited verses
attacking and vilifying the Prophet.
For twenty years almost this rancor
consumed his soul. His three others brothers - Nawfal,
Rabiah and Abdullah, had all accepted Islam but not he.
In the eighth year after the Hijrah,
however, shortly before the Islamic liberation of Makkah,
Abu Sufyan's position began to shift, as he explains:
"When the movement of Islam became vigorous and
well-established and news spread of the Prophet's advance
to liberate Makkah, the world caved in on me. I felt
trapped. 'Where shall I go?' I asked myself. 'And with
whom?' To my wife and children, I said:
'Get ready to leave Makkah. Muhammad's
advance is imminent. I shall certainly be killed. I shall
be given no quarter should the Muslims recognize me.'
'Now,' replied my family, 'you must
realize that Arabs and non-Arabs have pledged their
obedience to Muhammad and accepted his religion. You are
still bent on opposing him whereas you might have been the
first to support and help him.'
They continued trying to influence me to
re-consider my attitude to Muhammad's religion and to
re-awaken in me affection towards him. Eventually God
opened my heart to Islam. I got up and said to my servant,
Madhkur: 'Get ready a camel and a horse for us.' I took my
son Jafar with me and we galloped with great speed towards
al-Abwa between Makkah and Madinah. I had learnt that
Muhammad had camped there. As I approached the place, I
covered my face so that no one could recognize and kill me
before I could reach the Prophet and announce my
acceptance of Islam directly to him.
Slowly, I proceeded on foot while
advance groups of Muslims headed towards Makkah. I avoided
their path out of fear that one of the Prophet's
companions would recognize me. I continued in this fashion
until the Prophet on his mount came into my view. Coming
out into the open, I went straight up to him and uncovered
my face. He looked at me and recognized me. But, he turned
his face away. I moved to face him once again. He avoided
looking at me and again turned away his face. This
happened repeatedly.
I had no doubt - as I stood there facing
the Prophet that he would have been pleased with my
acceptance of Islam and that his companions would have
rejoiced at his happiness. When, however, the Muslims saw
the Prophet, peace be on him, avoiding me, they too looked
at me and shunned me. Abu Bakr met me and violently turned
away. I looked at Umar ibn al-Khattab, my eyes pleading
for his compassion, but I found him even more harsh than
Abu Bakr. In fact, Umar went on to incite one of the Ansar
against me.
'O enemy of God,' lashed out the Ansari,
'you are the one who persecuted the Messenger of God,
peace be on him, and tortured his companions. You carried
your hostility towards the Prophet to the ends of the
earth'.
The Ansari went on censuring me in a
loud voice while other Muslims glared at me in anger. At
that point, I saw my uncle, al-Abbas, and went to him
seeking refuge.
'O uncle,' I said. 'I had hoped that the
Prophet, peace be on him, would be happy about my
acceptance of Islam because of my kinship to him and
because of my position of honor among my people. You know
what his reaction has been. Speak to him then on my behalf
that he may be pleased with me.'
'No, by God,' replied my uncle. 'I shall
not speak to him at all after I have seen him turning away
from you except if an opportunity presents itself. I do
honor the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be on him,
and I stand in awe of him.'
'O uncle, to whom then will you abandon
me?' I pleaded.
'I do not have anything for you except
what you have heard,' he said.
Anxiety and grief took hold of me. I saw
Ali ibn Talib soon after and spoke to him about my case.
His response was the same as that of my uncle. I went back
to my uncle and said to him: 'O uncle, if you cannot
soften the heart of the Prophet towards me, then at least
restrain that man from denouncing me and inciting others
against me.'
'Describe him to me,' said my uncle. I
described the man to him and he said: 'That is Nuayman ibn
al-Harith an-Najjari.' He sent for Nuayman and said to
him: 'O Nuayman! Abu Sufyan is the cousin of the Prophet
and my nephew. If the Prophet is angry with him today, he
will be pleased with him another day. So leave him...' My
uncle continued trying to placate Nuayman until the latter
relented and said: 'I shall not spurn him anymore.'
"When the Prophet reached al-Jahfah
(about four days journey from Makkah), I sat down at the
door of his tent. My son Jafar stood beside me. As he was
leaving his tent, the Prophet saw me and averted his face.
Yet, I did not despair of seeking his pleasure. Whenever
he camped at a place, I would sit at his door and my son
Jafar would stand in front of me... I continued in this
fashion for some time. But the situation became too much
for me and I became depressed. I said to myself:
'By God, either the Prophet, peace be on
him, shows he is pleased with me or I shall take my son
and go wandering through the land until we die of hunger
and thirst.'
When the Prophet came to hear of this,
he relented and, on leaving his tent, he looked more
gently towards me then before. I so much hoped that he
would smile."
Eventually the Prophet relented and told
Abu Sufyan, "There is now no blame on you." He
entrusted the newcomer to Islam to Ali ibn Abi Talib
saying: "Teach your cousin how to perform wudu and
about the Sunnah. Then bring him back to me." When
Ali returned, the Prophet said:
"Tell all the people that the
Messenger of God is pleased with Abu Sufyan and that they
should be pleased with him."
Abu Sufyan continued: "The Prophet
then entered Makkah and I too entered in his entourage. He
went to the Sacred Mosque and I also went, trying my best
to remain in his presence and not separate from him on any
account...
Later, at the Battle of Hunayn, the
Arabs put together an unprecedented force against the
Prophet, peace be on him... They were determined to deal a
mortal blow to Islam and the Muslims.
The Prophet went out to confront them
with a large number of his companions. I went out with him
and when I saw the great throngs of mushrikin, I said: 'By
God, today, I shall atone for all my past hostility
towards the Prophet. peace be on him, and he shall
certainly see on my part what pleases God and what pleases
him.'
When the two forces met, the pressure of
the mushrikin on the Muslims was severe and the Muslims
began to lose heart. Some even began to desert and
terrible defeat stared us in the face. However, the
Prophet stood firm in the thick of battle astride his mule
"Ash-Shahba" like a towering mountain, wielding
his sword and fighting for himself and those around him...
I jumped from my horse and fought beside him. God knows
that I desired martyrdom beside the Messenger of God. My
uncle, al-Abbas, took the reins of the Prophet's mule and
stood at his side. I took up my position on the other
side. With my right hand I fended off attacks against the
Prophet and with my left I held on to my mount.
When the Prophet saw my devastating
blows on the enemy, he asked my uncle: 'Who's this?' 'This
is your brother and cousin. Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith. Be
pleased with him. O Messenger of God.'
'I have done so and God has granted
forgiveness to him for all the hostility he has directed
against me.'
My heart soared with happiness. I kissed
his feet in the stirrup and wept. He turned towards me and
said: 'My brother! Upon my life! Advance and strike!'
The words of the Prophet spurred me on
and we plunged into the positions of the mushrikin until
they were routed and fled in every direction."
After Hunayn, Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith
continued to enjoy the good pleasure of the Prophet and
the satisfaction of being in his noble company. But he
never looked the Prophet directly in the eye nor focussed
his gaze on his face out of shame and embarrassment for
his past hostility towards him.
Abu Sufyan continued to feel intense
remorse for the many and dark days he had spent trying to
extinguish the light of God and refusing to follow His
message. Henceforth, his days and nights he would spend
reciting the verses of the Quran seeking to understand and
follow its laws and profit by its admonitions. He shunned
the world and its adornments and turned to God with every
fibre of his being. Once the Prophet. peace be on him, saw
him entering the mosque and asked his wife: "Do you
know who is this, Aishah?" "No, O Messenger of
God." she replied. This is my cousin. Abu Sufyan ibn
al-Harith. See, he is the first to enter the masjid and
the last to leave. His eyes do not leave his
shoelace."
When the Prophet, peace be on him,
passed away, Abu Sufyan felt intense grief and wept
bitterly.
During the caliphate of Umar, may God be
pleased with him, Abu Sufyan felt his end drawing near.
One day people saw him in al-Baqi, the cemetery not far
from the Prophet's mosque where many Sahabah are buried.
He was digging and fashioning a grave. They were
surprised. Three days later, Abu Sufyan was lying
stretched out at home His family stood around weeping but
he said: "Do not weep for me. By God, I did not
commit any wrong since I accepted Islam." With that,
he passed away.
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