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Abdullah
ibn Umm Maktum
Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum was a cousin of
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, Mother of the Believers, may God
be pleased with her. His father was Qays ibn Said and his
mother was Aatikah bint Abdullah. She was called Umm
Maktum (Mother of the Concealed One) because she gave
birth to a blind child.
Abdullah witnessed the rise of Islam in
Makkah. He was amongst the first to accept Islam. He lived
through the persecution of the Muslims and suffered what
the other companions of the Prophet experienced. His
attitude, like theirs, was one of firmness, staunch
resistance and sacrifice. Neither his dedication nor his
faith weakened against the violence of the Quraysh
onslaught. In fact, all this only increased his
determination to hold on to the religion of God and his
devotion to His messenger.
Abdullah was devoted to the noble
Prophet and he was so eager to memorize the Quran that he
would not miss any opportunity to achieve his hearts
desire. Indeed, his sense of urgency and his insistence
could sometimes have been irritating as he,
unintentionally, sought to monopolize the attention of the
Prophet.
In this period, the Prophet, peace be
upon him, was concentrating on the Quraysh notables and
was eager that they should become Muslims. On one
particular day, he met Utbah ibn Rabiah and his brother
Shaybah, Amr ibn Hisham better known as Abu Jahl, Umayyah
ibn Khalaf and Walid ibn Mughirah, the father of Khalid
ibn Walid who was later to be known as Sayf Allah or 'the
sword of God'. He had begun talking and negotiating with
them and telling them about Islam. He so much wished that
they would respond positively to him and accept Islam or
at least call off their persecution of his companions.
While he was thus engaged, Abdullah ibn
Umm Maktum came up and asked him to read a verse from the
Quran. "O messenger of God," he said,
"teach me from what God has taught you."
The Prophet frowned and turned away from
him. He turned his attention instead to the prestigious
group of Quraysh, hoping that they would become Muslims
and that by their acceptance of Islam they would bring
greatness to the religion of God and strengthen his
mission. As soon as he had finished speaking to them and
had left their company, he suddenly felt partially blinded
and his head began to throb violently. At this point the
following revelation came to him:
"He frowned and turned away when
the blind man approached him ! Yet for all you knew, (O
Muhammad), he might perhaps have grown in purity or have
been reminded of the Truth, and helped by this reminder.
Now as for him who believes himself to be self-sufficient,
to him you gave your whole attention, although you are not
accountable for his failure to attain to purity. But as
for him who came unto you full of eagerness and in awe of
God, him did you disregard.
Nay, verily, this is but a reminder and
so, whoever is willing may remember Him in the light of
His revelations blest with dignity, lofty and pure, borne
by the hands of messengers, noble and most virtuous.'
(Surah Abasa 8O: 116).
These are the sixteen verses which were
revealed to the noble Prophet about Abdullah ibn Umm
Maktum, sixteen verses that have continued to be recited
from that time till today and shall continue to be
recited.
From that day the Prophet did not cease
to be generous to Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum, to ask him
about his affairs, to fulfill his needs and take him into
his council whenever he approached. This is not strange.
Was he not censured by God in a most severe manner on
Abdullah's account? In fact, in later years, he often
greeted Ibn Umm Maktum with these words of humility:
"Welcome unto him on whose account
my Sustainer has rebuked me." When the Quraysh
intensified their persecution of the Prophet and those who
believed with him, God gave them permission to emigrate.
Abdullahs response was prompt. He and Musab ibn Umayr were
the first of the Companions to reach Madinah.
As soon as they reached Yathrib, he and
Musab began discussing with the people, reading the Quran
to them and teaching them the religion of God. When the
Prophet, upon whom be peace, arrived in Madinah, he
appointed Abdullah and Bilal ibn Rabah to be muadh-dhins
for the Muslims, proclaiming the Oneness of God five times
a day, calling man to the best of actions and summoning
them to success .
Bilal would call the adhan and Abdullah
would pronounce the iqamah for the Prayer. Sometimes they
would reverse the process. During Ramadan, they adopted a
special routine. One of them would call the adhan to wake
people up to eat before the fast began. The other would
call the adhan to announce the beginning of dawn and the
fast. It was Bilal who would awaken the people and
Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum who would announce the beginning
of dawn.
One of the responsibilities that the
Prophet placed on Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum was to put him
in charge of Madinah in his absence. This was done more
than ten times, one of them being when he left for the
liberation of Makkah.
Soon after the battle of Badr, the
Prophet received a revelation from God raising the status
of the mujahideen and preferring them over the qaideen
(those who remain inactive at home). This was in order to
encourage the mujahid even further and to spur the qaid to
give up his inactivity. This revelation affected ibn Umm
Maktum deeply. It pained him to be thus barred from the
higher status and he said:
O messenger of God. If I could go on
jihad, I would certainly do." He then earnestly asked
God to send down a revelation about his particular case
and those like him who were prevented because of their
disabilities from going on military campaigns.
His prayer was answered. An additional
phrase was revealed to the Prophet exempting those with
disabilities from the import of the original verse. The
full ayah became:
"Not equal are those who remain
seated among the believers, except those who possess
disabilities, and those who strive and fight in the way of
God with their wealth and their persons . . ." (Surah
an-Nisaa, 4: 95).
In spite of thus being excused from
jihad, the soul of Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum refused to be
content with staying among those who remained at home when
an expedition was in progress. Great souls are not content
with remaining detached from affairs of great moment. He
determined that no campaign should by-pass him. He fixed a
role for himself on the battle field. He would say:
"Place me between two rows and give me the standard.
I will carry it for you and protect it, for I am blind and
cannot run away. "
In the fourteenth year after the hijrah,
Umar resolved to mount a major assault against the
Persians to bring down their State and open the way for
the Muslim forces. So he wrote to his governors:
"Send anyone with a weapon or a
horse or who can offer any form of help to me. And make
haste."
Crowds of Muslims from every direction
responded to Umar's call and converged on Madinah. Among
all these was the blind mujahid Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum.
Umar appointed Saud ibn Abi Waqqas commander over the
army, gave him instructions and bade him farewell. When
the army reached Qadisiyyah, Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum was
prominent, wearing a coat of armor and fully prepared. He
had vowed to carry and protect the standard of the Muslims
or be killed in the process.
The forces met and engaged in battle for
three days. The fighting was among the most fierce and
bitter in the history of the Muslim conquests. On the
third day, the Muslims achieved a mighty victory as one of
the greatest empires in the world collapsed and one of the
most secure thrones fell. The standard of Tawhid was
raised in an idolatrous land. The price of this clear
victory was hundreds of martyrs. Among them was Abdullah
ibn Umm Maktum. He was found dead on the battlefield
clutching the flag of the Muslims.
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