Chief of the Prophets

Chief of the Prophets — Page 139

Chapter Seven 139 Islam and requested him to send instructors to teach religion to their people. 1 Muḥammad sa sent a party of ten instructors with them. When this party of instructors reached a place called Al-Rajī‘, 200 riders of Banū Liḥyān attacked them. The instructors immediately climbed a dune and prepared to fight. Eight of them died fighting, but two of them, Khubaib bin ‘Adiyy ra and Zaid bin Dathinah ra trusting the promise of disbelievers, handed themselves over to them. But as soon as they did, the disbelievers tied them with the strings of their bows and sold them to the people of Makkah. Khubaib ra was bought by the sons of Ḥārith bin ‘Ᾱmir because their father was killed by Khubaib ra in the Battle of Badr, and Zaid was bought by Ṣafwān bin Umayyah. 2 During his imprisonment, one day Khubaib ra asked the daughter of Ḥārith for a blade for personal use that she gave him. A young child of the daughter of Ḥārith was playing there, and it wandered over to Khubaib ra who made him sit on his thigh. The mother of the child was terrified for the child’s safety seeing Khubaib ra holding a blade in his hand. Khubaib ra realizing the fear of the mother said, “Do you think, I will kill this child? No, I will God willing ( In shā’ Allah ) never commit such an act. ” The woman was so impressed by the character of Khubaib ra that afterwards she always said that she had never seen such a good prisoner in her entire life. When Khubaib ra was taken out in the open field to be executed, he hurriedly offered two rak‘āt of Ṣalāt with full devotion of heart and said, “I really wanted to offer a longer Ṣalāt , but I did not do so as people might think that I was afraid of death, therefore I hurried. ” After this, Khubaib ra bowed down his neck reciting the following poetic verses: 1 Ibni Hishām and Ibni Sa‘d. 2 Ibni Hishām and Ibni Sa‘d.