Here is another Abu Sufyaan, a different
one than Abu Sufyaan Ibn Harb. His story
is one of being guided after straying
from the path of truth, a story of love
after hatred, happiness after suffering.
It is the story of Allah's infinite
mercy and how it opened the gates to
someone seeking Allah's refuge after a
long journey full of hardship and
suffering.
Can
you imagine, Ibn Al-Haarith spent 20
years in a continuous fight against
Islam! Twenty years from the beginning
of the revelation until the Day of the
Conquest. During this whole period Abu
Sufyaan was encouraging the Quraish and
their allies, attacking the Prophet (PBUH)
by means of satires, never absent when a
battle or fight was fought. His three
brothers, Nawfal, Rabii'ah, and 'Abd
Allah, converted to Islam before him.
The
Abu Sufyaan whom we are talking about
was the cousin of the Prophet (PBUH), as
he was the son of Al-Haarith Ibn 'Abd
Al-Muttalib. Furthermore, he was the
foster brother of the Prophet (PBUH),
having been suckled for a few days by
Haliimah Al-Sa'diyah, the Prophet's
wet-nurse.
One
day destiny called him to meet his happy
fate. He called his son Ja'far and said
to his men that they were both going to
travel. "Where to, Ibn Al-Haarith?
What is your destination?" "To
the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) to submit
ourselves to Allah, Lord of the
Worlds."
With a
repenting heart he began to ride his
horse. At a place called Al-Abuwaa', he
could see a great army approaching. Soon
he realized that it was the Prophet (PBUH)
moving forward to enter Makkah. He began
to search for a way out. The Messenger
of Allah (PBUH) had allowed the
Companions to shed Abu Sufyaan's blood
because of his long continuous fight
against Islam, a fight in which he used
his sword as well as his tongue.
If
anyone in the approaching army saw him,
he would no doubt take revenge.
Therefore Abu Sufyaan had to find a
clever way which would enable him to
meet the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) first
before any Muslim could see him. He
disguised himself, hiding all his
features, then took his son and walked a
while until he could clearly see the
Prophet (PBUH), who at that moment was
approaching amidst a large number of the
Companions.
Suddenly,
Abu Sufyaan threw himself between the
Prophet's hands, removing his disguise.
As soon as the Prophet (PBUH) recognized
him, he turned his face. Abu Sufyaan
turned and approached him from another
direction, in vain; the Prophet turned
his face again. Abu Sufyaan and his son
Ja'far both shouted, " We bear
witness that there is no god but
Allah.We bear witness that Muhammad is
the Messenger of Allah." They came
nearer saying, "O Prophet, no
reproach!" The Prophet (PBUH)
replied, "No reproach shall be upon
you, Abu Sufyaan." Then the Prophet
(PBUH) handed him over to 'Ally Ibn Abi
Taalib and said to him, "Teach your
cousin ablution, the Sunnah and take him
away right now." 'Aliy took him and
soon returned. The Prophet (PBUH) told 'Aliy,
" Tell people that the Prophet (PBUH)
is pleased with Abu Sufyaan, so be
pleased with him."
It was
nothing more than a moment which Allah
blessed in order to close a period of
suffering, misery, hardship, and error
while opening the gates of infinite
mercy.
He
nearly converted to Islam when, during
the Battle of Badr, while fighting on
the side of the Quraish, he saw
something that confused his mind.
During
that battle Abu Lahab stayed behind,
sending Al-'Aas Ibn Hishaam in his
place. Abu Lahab was waiting eagerly to
hear the news when the shocking defeat
was announced. He was sitting near the
well of Zamzam in the middle of a group
of the Quraish, when a horseman
approached. It was Abu Sufyaan Ibn Al-Haarith.
Abu Lahab did not give him a chance to
rest, but asked him immediately,
"Come nearer, my cousin. You have
the latest news ! How was it?" Abu
Sufyaan Ibn Al-Haarith said, "We
had hardly begun fighting when it was as
if we offered them our bodies, let them
do with us whatever they wanted, let
them fight us as they pleased, took us
prisoners as they liked. I swear, by
Allah, I do not blame the Quraish, as we
met white men riding piebald horses
filling the space between heaven and
earth. Nothing is like to them, nothing
could stop them."
Abu
Sufyaan surely meant that angels were
fighting on the Prophet's side. Why is
it then that Abu Sufyaan did not submit
himself to Allah at that time after
having seen what he first decribed?
Doubt
paves the way to certainty. The more
obstinate and opinionated his doubt, the
firmer and more persistent his
conviction.
Finally,
it was the day of guidance and
certainty, the day of his conversion as
previously mentioned.
From
the very beginning, from the first
moments after his conversion, he began
to strive and to worship as if entering
a race with time, hoping to erase all
traces of his past to compensate for
what he had missed during that time.
He
took part in all the battles after the
Day of the Conquest. On the Day of
Hunain a very dangerous trap was
prepared by the polytheists, who
attacked the Muslims so fiercefully that
a great deal of Muslim warriors lost
their reason and retreated, but the
Prophet (PBUH) stood firm appealing,
"O people, I'm the Prophet, it's
not a lie. I'm the son of 'Abd Al-Mutalib."
During
those fearful moments, a small group,
not losing their reason, continued
fighting. Among them was Abu Sufyaan and
his son Ja'far. Abu Sufyaan was holding
the bridle of the Prophet's horse, but
when he saw what happened, he felt
deeply that his chance had finally come,
the chance of dying as a martyr in the
cause of Allah, between the Prophet's
hands.
He
held the horse's bridle with one hand
while cutting the throats of the
polytheists with the other.
The
Muslims regrouped around the Prophet (PBUH)
and Allah blessed them with victory.
Although the fight was over, when the
Prophet (PBUH) looked around he could
see a faithful believer still holding
his horse's bridle. It was Abu Sufyaan,
who had not left his place since the
battle began. The Prophet (PBUH) glanced
and asked, "Who is it? My brother
Abu Sufyaan Ibn Al-Haarith?"
Immediately
after hearing the word
"brother" Abu Sufyaan's heart
was filled with joy and dignity. He
knelt down and kissed the Prophet's
feet, crying. His poetic sensibility was
so much moved that he began to describe
his joy and happiness because Allah had
blessed him with so much bravery and
success.
Abu
Sufyaan turned to worship and adore
Allah very persistently. It was after
the Prophet's death when his soul longed
for its meeting with the Prophet. He had
desired for a long time to die soon, to
the extent that people saw him digging
out his grave at Al-Baqi', a grave
which he prepared and arranged in a very
nice way. When people expressed their
astonishment he just said, "I'm
preparing my grave."
Three
days later he was lying at home, when
his relatives began to cry and weep.
When he opened his eyes, he said in
complete tranquility, "Don't cry. I
didn't commit a single sin since I
converted to Islam."
Before
his head fell upon his chest he said his
last farewell to the world.
Sheikh Abdulfattah Abu-Abdullah Adelabu (Ph. D. Damas),
a West African Islamic Academic founded AWQAF Africa, of
which he's the first al Amir (i.e. President).
Sheikh Dr. Adelabu was studying Postgraduate Degrees in
Damascus early 1990's during when Syria reviewed its
national security after an ‘Oslo Accord'...
Syria like many other countries around the world
witnessed, during this period, the flood of refugees
from war troubled nations like Somalia, arrival of
people from Algeria during the brutal struggling between
the Mujahidun and the government, resettlement of the
Palestinians fleeing from sophisticated guns of the
Israelis as well as adventure of African migrants for
reasons uncountable…
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