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An-Nuayman ibn Amr
In spite of the fact that he fought in
the battles of Badr, Uhud, Khandaq and other major
encounters, an-Nuayman remained a light-hearted person who
was quick at repartee and who loved to play practical
jokes on others.
He belonged to the Banu an-Najjar of
Madinah and he was among the early Muslims of the city. He
was one of those who pledged allegiance to the Prophet at
the Second Pledge of Aqabah. He established links with the
Quraysh when he married the sister of Abdur Rahman ibn Awl
and later Umm Kulthum the daughter of Uqbah ibn Mu'ayt.
She had obtained a divorce from her husband az-Zubayr ibn
al-Awwam on account of his harshness and severity.
Unfortunately for a time an-Nuayman
became addicted to alcohol. He was caught drinking and the
Prophet had him flogged. He was caught a second time and
then he had him flogged again. Because he still did not
give up the habit, the Prophet ordered that he be flogged
with shoes. When all this did not persuade him to stop
drinking, the Prophet finally said: "If he goes back
(to drinking) then kill him."
This was a severe Pronouncement and
Umayr, one of the companions of the Prophet, understood
from it that should he return to the drinking of alcohol,
an-Nuayman would go outside the pale of Islam and deserve
death. Umayr gave vent to his anger and disgust by saying:
"La 'nat Allah alayhi - may God's curse be on
him."
The Prophet heard Umayr's imprecation
and said: "No, no, don't do (such a thing). Indeed he
loves God and His Apostle. The major sin (as this) does
not put one outside the community and the mercy of God is
close to the believers."
While being firm, the Prophet still held
out hope for an-Nuayman's reform especially on account of
his past sacrifices as a veteran of Badr. Because he was
not someone who went out of his way to conceal his
actions, it was easier for him to acknowledge his crimes
and repent and seek forgiveness from God. This he did and
he won the favor of the Prophet and his companions who
enjoyed his pleasantries and his infectious laughter.
Once an-Nuayman went to the suq and saw
some food being sold which appeared to be tasty and
delightful. He ordered some and sent it to the Prophet as
if it were a gift from him. The Prophet was delighted with
the food and he and his family ate of it. The vendor of
the food then came to an-Nuayman to collect the price of
it and an-Nuayman said to him: "Go to the Messenger
of God it was for him. He and his family ate it."
The vendor went to the Prophet who in
turn asked an-Nuayman: "Didn't you give it to
me?" "Yes," said an-Nuayman. "I
thought you would like it and I wanted you to eat some of
it so I had it presented to you. But I don't have any
dirhams to pay the vendor for it. So, pay, O Messenger of
God!"
The Prophet had a good laugh and so did
his companions. The laugh was at his expense, literally,
for he had to pay the price of the unsolicited gift.
An-Nuayman felt that two benefits came out of the
incident: the Prophet and his family ate food that they
enjoyed and the Muslims had a good laugh.
Once Abu Bakr and some companions went
on a trading expedition to Busra. Various people on the
trip were given fixed duties. Suwaybit ibn Harmalah was
made responsible for food and provisions. An-Nuayman was
one of the group and on the way he became hungry and asked
Suwaybit for some food. Suwaybit refused and an-Nuayman
said to him:
"Do you know what I would yet do
with you?" and went on to warn and threaten him but
still Suwaybit refused. An-Nuayman then went to a group of
Arabs in the suq and said to them: "Would you like to
have a strong and sturdy slave whom I can sell to
you." They said yes and an-Nuayman went on: "He
has got a ready tongue and is very articulate. He would
resist you and say: 'I am free.' But don't listen
to him"
The men paid the price of the slave -
ten qala'is (pieces of gold) and an-Nuayman accepted it
and appeared to complete the transaction with
business-like efficiency. The buyers accompanied him to
fetch theft purchase. Pointing to Suwaybit, he said:
"This is the slave whom I sold to you."
The men took hold of Suwaybit and he
shouted for dear life and freedom. "I am free. I am
Suwaybit ibn Harmalah..."
But they paid no attention to him and
dragged him off by the neck as they would have done with
any slave.
All the while, an-Nuayman did not laugh
or batter an eyelid. He remained completely calm and
serious while Suwaybit continued to protest bitterly.
Suwaybit's fellow travellers, realizing what was
happening, rushed to fetch Abu Bakr, the leader of the
caravan, who came running as fast as he could. He
explained to the purchasers what had happened and so they
released Suwaybit and had their money returned. Abu Bakr
then laughed heartily and so did Suwaybit and an-Nuayman.
Back in Madinah, when the episode was recounted to the
Prophet and his companions, they all laughed even more.
A man once came to the Prophet on a
delegation and tethered his camel at the door of the
Masjid. The Sahabah noticed that the camel had a large fat
hump and their appetite for succulent tasty meat was
stimulated. They turned to Nuayman and asked: "Would
you deal with this camel?"
An-Nuayman understood what they meant.
He got up and slaughtered the camel. The nomad Arab came
out and realized what had happened when he saw people
grilling, sharing out and eating meat. He shouted in
distress: "Waa 'aqraah! Waa Naqataah! (O my
camel!)"
The Prophet heard the commotion and came
out. He learnt from the Sahabah what had happened and
began searching for an-Nuayman but did not find him.
Afraid of being blamed and punished, an-Nuayman had fled.
The Prophet then followed his footprints. These led to a
garden belonging to Danbaah the daughter of az-Zubayr, a
cousin of the Prophet. He asked the companions where
an-Nuayman was. Pointing to a nearby ditch, they said
loudly so as not to alert an-Nuayman: "We haven't
found him, O Messenger of God." An-Nuayman was found
in the ditch covered with palm branches and leaves and
emerged with dirt on his head, beard and face. He stood in
the presence of the Prophet who took him by the head and
dusted the dirt from his face while he chuckled with
laughter. The companions joined in the mirth. The Prophet
paid the price of the camel to its owner and they all
joined in the feast.
The Prophet obviously regarded
an-Nuayman's pranks for what they were light-hearted
sallies that were meant to create some relief and
laughter. The religion of Islam does not require people to
disdain seemly laughter and levity and remain perpetually
gloomy. An appropriate sense of humor is often a saving
grace.
An-Nuayman lived on after the Prophet
and continued to enjoy the affection of Muslims. But did
he put an end to his laughter? During the caliphate of
Uthman, a group of Sahabah were sitting in the Masjid.
They saw Makhramah ibn Nawfal, an old man who was about
one hundred and fifteen years old and obviously rather
senile. He was related to the sister of Abdur-Rahman ibn
Awl, who was a wife of an-Nuayman.
Makhramah was blind. He was so weak that
he could hardly move from his place in the Masjid. He got
up to urinate and might have done so in the Masjid. But
the companions shouted at him to prevent him from doing
so.. An-Nuayman got up and went to take him to another
place, as he was instructed. What is this other place that
an-Nuayman took him to? In fact he took him only a short
distance away from where he was sitting at first and sat
him down.
The place was still in the Masjid!
People shouted at Makhramah and made him
get up again all in a frenzy. The poor old man was
distressed and said: "Who has done this?"
"An-Nuayman ibn Amr," he was told.
The old man swore and announced that he
would bash an-Nuayman on the head with his stick if he
should meet him.
An-Nuayman left and returned. He was up
to some prank of his again. He saw Uthman ibn Allan, the
Amir al-Muminim, performing Salat in the Masjid. Uthman
was never distracted when he stood for Prayer. An-Nuayman
also saw Makhramah. He went up to him and in a changed
voice said: "Do you want to get at an-Nuayman?"
The old man remembered what an-Nuayman
had done. He remembered his vow and shouted: "Yes,
where is he?" An-Nuayman took him by the hand and led
him to the place where the Khalifah Uthman stood and said
to him: "Here he is!"
The old man raised his staff and bashed
the head of
Uthman. Blood flowed and the people
shouted: "It's the Amir al-Muminin!"
The dragged Makhramah away and some
people set out to get an-Nuayman but Uthman restrained
them and asked them to leave him alone. In spite of the
blows he had suffered, he was still able to laugh at the
deeds of an-Nuayman.
An-Nuayman lived up to the time of
Muawiyah when fitnah saddened him and discord filled him
with anguish. He lost his levity and laughed no more. |
