When the Prophet, peace
be on him, returned to Madinah from the
Farewell Pilgrimage in the tenth year
after the Hijrah, he fell ill, News of
his illness spread rapidly throughout
the Arabian peninsula. Sincere Muslims
everywhere were greatly saddened by the
news but for others it was a time to
disclose hidden hopes and ambitions and
reveal their real attitudes to Islam and
the noble Prophet.
In al-Yamamah,
Musaylamah the Imposter renounced Islam.
So too did Tulayhah al-Asadi in the land
of the Asad. And in the Yemen, al-Aswad
al-Ansi also became an apostate. More
than that, these three imposters claimed
that they were prophets sent to their
respective peoples just as Muhammad the
son of Abdullah was sent to the Quraysh.
Al-Aswad al-Ansi was a
soothsayer who practised magic arts. But
he was no minor magician or
fortuneteller who dabbled in his evil
arts in obscurity. He was powerful and
influential and possessed a strange
power of speech that mesmerized the
hearts of his listeners and captivated
the minds of the masses with his false
claims. With his wealth and power he
managed to attract not just the masses
but people of status as well. When he
appeared before people he normally wore
a mask in order to surround himself with
an air of mystery, awe and reverence.
In the Yemen at that
time, a section of the people who had
much prestige and influence were the
"Abna". They were the scions
of Persian fathers who ruled Yemen as
part of the Sasanian Empire. Their
mothers were local Arabs. Fayruz al-Daylami
was one of these Yemeni Abna.
At the time of the
appearance of Islam, the most powerful
of the Abna was Badhan who ruled Yemen
on behalf of the Chosroes of Persia.
When Badban became convinced of the
truth of the Prophet Muhammad and the
Divine nature of his mission he
renounced his allegiance to the Chosroes
and accepted Islam. His people followed
him in tiffs. The Prophet confirmed him
in his dominion and he ruled the Yemen
until his death shortly before the
appearance of al-Aswad al-Ansi.
Al-Aswad's tribe, the
Banu Mudh-hij, were the first to respond
positively to his claims to prophethood.
With this tribal force he mounted a raid
on San'a. He killed the governor, Shahr
the son of Badhan and took his wife to
himself. From San'a he raided other
regions. Through his swift and startling
strikes, a vast region from Hadramawt to
at-Taif and from al-Ahsa to Aden came
under his influence.
What helped al-Aswad
in deceiving the people and drawing them
to him was his guile and cunning which
knew no bounds. To his followers he
alleged that an angel visited him,
disclosed revelations to him and gave
him intelligence of people and their
affairs. What allowed him to appear to
bear out these claims were the spies he
employed and despatched everywhere, to
bring him news of people and their
circumstances, their secrets and their
problems, their hopes and their fears.
Reports were brought
back in secrecy to him and when he met
anyone, especially those in need, he
could give the impression that he had
prior knowledge of their needs and
problems. In this way he astonished
people and confounded their thoughts. He
acquired a large following and his
mission spread like wildfire.
When news of al-Aswad's
apostasy and his activities throughout
the Yemen reached the Prophet, peace be
on him, he despatched about ten of Iris
companions with letters to those of his
companions in the Yemen whom he felt he
could trust. He urged them to confront
the blind fitnah with faith and resolve,
and he ordered them to get rid of al-Aswad
by any means possible.
All who received the
Prophet's missives set about to carry
out his orders implicitly. In the
forefront of these was Fayruz ad-Daylami
and those of the Abna who were with him.
Let us leave Fayruz to relate his
extraordinary story:
"I and those of
the Abna who were with me never for one
moment had any doubt about the religion
of God. No belief in the enemy of God
entered the heart of any one of us. (In
fact) we waited for opportunities to get
hold of al-Aswad and eliminate him by
any means.
When we received the
letters of the Messenger of God, may God
bless him and grant him peace, we felt
strengthened in our mutual resolve and
each one determined to do what he could
Because of his
considerable success, pride and vanity
took hold of al-Aswad al-Ansi. He
bragged to the commander of his army,
Qays ibn Abd Yaghuth, saying how
powerful he was. His attitude and
relationship towards his commander
changed so much so that Qays felt that
he was not safe from Iris violence and
oppression.
My cousin, Dadhawayh,
and I went to Qays and informed him of
what the Prophet, peace and blessings be
on him, had told us and we invited him
to "make lunch" out of the man
(al-Aswad) before he could "make
supper" out of him. He was
receptive to our proposal and regarded
us as a Godsend. He disclosed to us some
of the secrets of al-Aswad.
The three of us vowed
to confront the apostate from within
(his castle) while our other brothers
would confront him from without. We were
all of the view that our cousin Dadha,
whom al-Aswad had taken to himself after
the killing of her husband, should join
us. We went to al-Aswad's castle and met
her. I said to her:
'O cousin, you know
what harm and evil this man has visited
upon you and us. He has killed your
husband and dishonored the women of your
people. He has massacred their husbands
and wrested political authority from
their hands.
'This is a letter from
the Messenger of God, may God bless him
and grant him peace, to us in particular
and to the people of Yemen in general in
which he asks us to put an end to this
fitnah. Would you help us in this
matter?' 'On what can I help you? she
asked. 'On his expulsion...' I said.
'Rather on his assassination,' she
suggested. 'By God, I had nothing else
in mind,' I said, 'but I was afraid to
suggest this to you.' 'By Him Who has
sent Muhammad with the Truth as a
bringer or' good tidings and as a warner,
I have not doubted in my religion for a
moment. God has not created a man more
detestable to me than the devil (al-Aswad).
By God, from the time I saw him, I have
only known him to be a corrupt and
sinful person who does not promote any
truth and does not stop from committing
any abominable deed.' "How can we
go about eliminating him?' I asked.
'He is well-guarded
and protected. There is not a place in
his castle which is not surrounded by
guards. There is one broken down and
abandoned room though which opens out
into open land. In the evening during
the first third of the night, go there.
You will find inside weapons and a
light. You will find me waiting for
you...' she said.
'But getting through
to a room in a castle such as this is no
easy task. Someone might pass and alert
the guards and that will be the end of
us' I said. 'You are not far from the
truth. But I have a suggestion.' 'What
is it?' I asked.
'Send a man tomorrow
whom you trust as one of the workers. I
shall tell him to make an opening in the
room from the inside so that it should
be easy to enter.' 'That's a brilliant
suggestion you have,' I said.
I then left her and
told the two others what we had decided
and they gave their blessings to the
plan. We left straightaway to get
ourselves prepared. We informed a select
group of believers who were assisting us
to prepare themselves and gave them the
password (to signal the time they could
storm the castle). The time was to be
dawn of the following day.
When night fell and
the appointed time came, I went with my
two companions to the opening in the
room and uncovered it. We entered the
room and put on the lamp. We found the
weapons and proceeded to the apartment
of God's enemy. There was our cousin
standing at his door. She pointed out
where he was and we entered. He was
asleep and snoring. I plunged the blade
in his neck and he bellowed like a bull
being slaughtered. When the guards heard
this, they ran quickly to his apartment
and asked: 'What is this?'
'Don't worry. You can
go. The prophet of God is receiving
revelation,' she said, and they left. We
stayed in the castle until the break of
dawn. Then I stood on a wall of the
castle and shouted:
'Allahu Akbar! Allahu
Akbar!' and went on with the adhan until
I reached': 'Ashhadu anna Muhammadur
Rasulullah ! (Then I added) 'Wa ashhadu
anna al Aswad al-Ansi kadh-dhab ! I
testify that al-Aswad is an imposter.'
That was the password,
Muslims then converged on
the castle from every
direction. The guards took fright
when they heard the
adhan and were confronted by the
Muslims shouting
Allahu Akbar.
By sunrise, the
mission was accomplished. When it was
full light, we sent a letter to the
Messenger of God giving him the good
news of the death of God's enemy.
When the messengers
reached Madinah they found that the
Prophet, may the blessings of God be on
him, had passed away that very night.
They learned however that Revelation had
been communicated to the Prophet
informing him of the death of al-Aswad
al-Ansi the night it took place."
Years later, the
Khalifah Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote to
Fayruz ad-Daylami, may God be pleased
with them both, saying:
"I have heard
that you are busy eating white bread and
honey (meaning no doubt that he was
leading an easy life). When this my
letter reaches you, come to me with the
blessings of God so that you may
campaign in the path of God."
Fayruz did as he was
commanded. He went to Madinah and sought
an audience with Umar. Umar granted him
permission. Evidently there was a crowd
waiting to see Umar and a Quraysh youth
pushed Fayruz. Fayruz raised his hand
and hit the Quraysh youth on the nose.
The youth went to Umar
who asked: "Who did that to
you?"
"Fayruz. He is at
the door," said the youth. Fayruz
entered and Umar asked: "What is
this, O Fayruz?"
"O Amir al-Muminin,"
said Fayruz. "You wrote to me. You
didn't write to him. You gave me
permission to enter and you didn't give
him permission. He wanted to enter in my
turn before me. Then I did what you have
been told."
"Al-Qisas,"
pronounced Umar in judgment, meaning
that Fayruz had to receive the same blow
from the youth in retaliation.
"Must it be so?" asked Fayruz.
"It must be so," insisted Umar.
Fayruz then got down
on his knees and the youth stood up to
exact his retaliation. Umar said to him
then: "Wait a moment, young man, so
that I can tell you something which I
heard from the Messenger of God, may God
bless him and grant him peace. I heard
the Messenger of God say one evening:
'This night, al-Aswad al-Ansi the
Imposter has been killed. The righteous
servant Fayruz ad-Daylami has killed
him' Umar then asked the youth:
"Do you see
yourself taking retribution on him after
you have heard this from the Messenger
of God?" "I forgive him,"
said the youth, "after you have
told me this from the Prophet."
"Do you think," said Fayruz to
Umar, "that my escape from what I
have done is a confession to him and
that his forgiveness is not given under
duress?" "Yes," replied
Umar and Fayruz then declared: "I
testily to you that my sword, my horse
and thirty thousand of my money is a
gift to him."
"Your forgiveness
has paid off, O brother Quraysh and you
have become rich," said Umar no
doubt impressed by the sense of remorse
and the spontaneous generosity of Fayruz,
the righteous.
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�