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Thabit
ibn Qays
Thabit ibn Qays was a chieftain of the
Khazraj and therefore a man of considerable influence in
Yathrib. He was known for the sharpness of his mind and
the power of his oratory. It was because of this that he
became the khatib or the spokesman and orator of the
Prophet and Islam.
He became a Muslim at the hands of Musab
ibn Umayr whose cool and persuasive logic and the
sweetness and beauty of his Quran recital proved
irresistible.
When the Prophet arrived in Madinah
after the historic Hijrah, Thabit and a great gathering of
horsemen gave him a warm and enthusiastic welcome. Thabit
acted as their spokesman and delivered a speech in the
presence of the Prophet and his companion, Abu Bakr
as-Siddiq. He began by giving praise to God Almighty and
invoking peace and blessings on His Prophet and ended up
by saying:
"We give our pledge to you, O
Messenger of God, that we would protect you from all that
we protect ourselves, our children and our wives. What
would then be our reward for this?"
The speech was reminiscent of words
spoken at the second Pledge of Aqabah and the Prophet's
reply as then was the same: "Al-Jannah -
Paradise!"
When the Yathribites heard the word
"al-Jannah" their faces beamed with happiness
and excitement and their response was: "We are
pleased, O Messenger of God! We are pleased, O Messenger
of God ."
From that day on the Prophet, peace be
on him, made Thabit ibn Qays his Khatib, just as Hassan
ibn Thabit was his poet. When delegations of Arabs came to
him to show off their brilliance in verse and the strength
of their oratory skills which the Arabs took great pride
in, the Prophet would call upon Thabit ibn Qays to
challenge their orators and Hassan ibn Thabit to vaunt his
verses before their poets.
In the Year of the Delegations, the
ninth after the Hijrah, tribes from all over the Arabian
peninsula came to Madinah to pay homage to the Prophet,
either to announce their acceptance of Islam or to pay
jizyah in return for the protection of the Muslim state.
One of these was a delegation from the tribe of Tamim who
said to the Prophet:
"We have come to show our prowess
to you. Do give
permission to our Shaif and our Khatib
to speak." The Prophet, peace be on him, smiled and
said: "I permit your Khatib. Let him speak."
Their orator, Utarid ibn Hajib, got up
and held forth on the greatness and achievements of their
tribe and when he was finished the Prophet summoned Thabit
ibn Qays and said: "Stand and reply to him."
Thabit arose and said:
"Praise be to God Whose creation is
the entire heavens and the earth wherein His will has been
made manifest. His Throne is the extent of His knowledge
and there is nothing which does not exist through His
grace.
"Through His power He has made us
leaders and from the best of His creation He has chosen a
Messenger who is the most honorable of men in lineage, the
most reliable and true in speech and the most excellent in
deeds. He has revealed to him a book and chosen him as a
leader of His creation. Among all creation, he is a
blessing of God.
"He summoned people to have faith
in Him. The Emigrants from among his people and his
relations who are the most honorable people in esteem and
the best in deeds believed in him. Then, we the Ansar
(Helpers) were the first people to respond (to his call
for support). So we are the Helpers of God and the
ministers of His Messenger."
Thabit was a believer with a profound
faith in God. His consciousness and fear of God was true
and strong. He was especially sensitive and cautious of
saying or doing anything that would incur the wrath of God
Almighty. One day the Prophet saw him looking not just sad
but dejected and afraid. His shoulders were haunched and
he was actually cringing from fear.
"What's wrong with you, O Abu
Muhammad?" asked the Prophet. "I fear that I
might be destroyed, O Messenger of God," he said.
"And why?" asked the Prophet. "God
Almighty," he said, "has prohibited us from
desiring to be praised for what we did not do but I find
myself liking praise. He has prohibited us from being
proud and I find myself tending towards vanity." This
was the time when the verse of the Quran was revealed:
"Indeed, God does not love any arrogant
boaster."
The Prophet, peace be on him, then tried
to calm his anxieties and allay his fears and eventually
said to him: "O Thabit, aren't you pleased to live as
someone who is praised, and to die as a martyr and to
enter Paradise?"
Thabit's face beamed with happiness and
joy as he said: "Certainly, O Messenger of God."
"Indeed, that shall be yours," replied the noble
Prophet.
There was another occasion when Thabit
became sad and crest-fallen, when the words of the Quran
were revealed:
"O you who believe! Raise not your
voices above the voice of the Prophet and neither speak
loudly to him as you would speak loudly to one another,
lest all your deeds come to naught without your perceiving
it."
On hearing these words, Qays kept away
from the meetings and gatherings of the Prophet in spite
of his great love for him and his hitherto constant
presence in his company. He stayed in his house a/most
without ever leaving it except for the performance of the
obligatory Salat. The Prophet missed his presence and
evidently asked for information about him. A man from the
Ansar volunteered and went to Thabit's house. He found
Thabit sitting in his house, sad and dejected, with his
head bowed low.
"What's the matter with you?"
asked the man. "It's bad," replied Thabit.
"You know that I am a man with a loud voice and that
my voice is far louder than that of the Messenger of God,
may God bless him and grant him peace. And you know what
has been revealed in the Quran. The only result for me is
that my deeds will come to naught and I will be among the
people who go to the fire of hell."
The man returned to the Prophet and told
him what he had seen and heard and the Prophet instructed
him to return to Thabit and say: "You are not among
the people who will go to the fire of hell but you will be
among the people of Paradise."
Such was the tremendously good news with
which Thabit ibn Qays was blessed. The incidents showed
how alive and sensitive he was to the Prophet and the
commands of Islam and his readiness to observe the letter
and the spirit of its laws. He subjected himself to the
most stringent self-criticism. His was a God-fearing and
penitent heart which trembled and shook through the fear
of God.
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