Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume II — Page 182
182 Roman soldiers took a companion as their prisoner, and his sister set out alone , following them for miles and then very successfully rescued her brother from the soldiers. The Muslims came to know of this only when she returned home with her brother. Then, there is another incident which tells us of the bravery of women. Ha z rat Sa‘ad b in Abi Waqqas ra was among the special c ompanions ra of the Holy Prophet sa. In his period of K hilafat, Ha z rat ‘ Umar ra made him the commander of the Muslim army against the Iranian forces. H e happened to develop a boil on his thigh, which we also refer to as a ghambeer. It afflicted him for a long time ; h e was given the best treatments, but to no effect. At last, he thought, ‘ If I remain in bed for long and the army sees that I, as their commander am absent, they will be disheartened. ’ So , he had a deck constructed i n a tree, similar to what people construct here to guard their fields. With the help of his men, he would sit there so that his soldiers could see him and feel that their commander was with them. It was during these days that he received news that an Arab chief had consumed alcohol. Although alcohol was prohibited in Islam , Arabs were in the habit of drinking and if one has this addiction, it is hard to break it in a short time. Only two or three years had passed since they had converted to Islam and that is not long enough to break a habit. Anyhow, when Ha z rat Sa‘ad b in Abi Waqqas ra discovered that this Arab chief had dr u nk alcohol , he put him in prison. In those days, there weren’t any proper prison s, so the person to be imprisoned would be locked in a room which was then attended by a guard. Thus, this Muslim Arab chief was locked in a room and the door was guarded. That year in Islam ic history is known as ‘ T he Y ear of T roubles ’ for Muslims suffered many losses in war. At one place, the horses of the Muslim forces ran away from fear of the enemy’s elephants. There was a small river nearby in which the horses jumped, and since the Arabs did not know how to swim, hundreds of them died by drowning. Thus, this year is called ‘ T he Y ear of T roubles. ’ Anyhow, that Arab Muslim chief was imprisoned in a room. When the Muslim soldiers used to return from the battlefield and sit near his room and talk of the many losses su ff ered by the Muslims, he would grow very agitated and lament how he was un able to take part in the battle. Though he had shown weakness when he consumed alcohol, he was very brave and passionate. After hearing of the losses of the Muslim soldiers, he woul d pace in side his room as a lion