The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 367
VIII - Blow of a Misfortune, Law of Inheritance, Prohibition of Alcohol, Treachery of the Disbelievers and Two Tragic Incidents 367 she would drink alcohol in the skull of her son’s killer. 1 However, the power of God was such that when these people arrived there, lo and behold, they found swarms of hornets and male honey bees resting upon the body of ‘Āṣim ra and they just would not budge. These people tried their level best to send off these hornets and bees, but no attempt proved successful. Finally, with no other choice, they returned frustrated and unsuccessful. 2 Soon after, a storm of rain came and took the body of ‘Āṣim ra elsewhere. It is written that upon accepting Islām, ‘Āṣim ra vowed that he would completely abstain from anything that was polytheistic, to the extent that he would not even touch an idolator. When Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar ra was informed of his martyrdom and of this occurrence in particular, he said, “Look how beautifully Allāh guards the emotions of His beloved servants. He fulfilled the vow of ‘Āṣim ra even after his demise and safeguarded him from the touch of idolators. ” 3 The grief which the Holy Prophet sa and his Companions would have felt as a result of the incident of Rajī‘ is obvious. However, before this tragic news could reach Madīnah, another incident took place. Hence, before we comment on the incident of Rajī‘, it is necessary to mention this incident, because both these occurrences were similar in nature, and the Holy Prophet sa received news of them at the same time as well. 4 Incident of Bi‘r-e-Ma‘ūnah The acts of mischief and seditious behaviour perpetrated by the tribes of Sulaim, and Ghaṭafān, etc. have already been mentioned above. These tribes inhabited the central region of Arabia in the Satḥ-e-Murtafa‘ Najd and had allied with the Quraish of Makkah against the Muslims. Slowly but surely, the evil of these mischievous tribes was continuing to grow and the Satḥ-e- Murtafa‘ Najd was continuing to be poisoned with the venom of enmity against Islām. As such, in the days we are describing now, an individual named Abū 1 Fatḥul-Bārī Sharḥu Ṣaḥīḥil-Bukhārī, By Al-Imām Aḥmad bin Ḥajar Al-‘Asqalānī, Volume 7, p 489, Kitābul-Maghāzī, Bābu Ghazwatir-Rajī‘ , Ḥadīth No. 4086, Qadīmī Kutub Khānah, Ārām Bāgh, Karachi 2 * Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Maghāzī, Bābu Ghazwatir-Rajī‘. . . . . , Ḥadīth No. 4086 * Fatḥul-Bārī Sharḥu Ṣaḥīḥil-Bukhārī, By Al-Imām Aḥmad bin Ḥajar Al-‘Asqalānī, Volume 7, p 489, Kitābul-Maghāzī, Bābu Ghazwatir-Rajī‘ , Ḥadīth No. 4086, Qadīmī Kutub Khānah, Ārām Bāgh, Karachi 3 As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Mālik bin Hishām, p. 592, Dhikru Yaumir-Rajī‘ Fī Sanati Thalāthin, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) 4 Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘Alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Allāmah Shihābuddīn Al-Qusṭalānī, Volume 2, p. 505, Bi‘ru Ma‘ūnah, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996)