Zubair ibn al-Awwaam(RadhiAllaahu Anhu) Zubair ibn al-Awwaam(RadhiAllaahu Anhu) was the son of Al-Awwaam and the father of Abdullah ibn Zubair. Zubair is one of the most respectable and famous personalities of Islam. The Prophet (SAWS) himself had decorated him with the title of Hawaari ar-Rasool or the Disciple of the Messenger of Allaah . He was one of those ten companions of the Prophet about whom the Prophet (SAWS) had prophecised of their entry into Paradise [‘Ashratun-Mubashshirah(i.e. those ten Companions who had been given the glad tidings of belonging to Paradise.)]. His eminence may be judged by the fact that Umar ibn al-Khattab (R A) would honorably address him with titles such as, One of the pillars of the Faith. Zubair(R A) had more than one relationship with the Prophet (SAWS) as follows: 1. He was the son of Safiyyah (R Anha), the daughter of Abdul Muttalib and the aunt of the Prophet(SAWS). Thus he was the cousin of the Prophet (SAWS) . 2. Khadhija (R Anha), the mother of the believers, was the aunt of Zubair, and according to this the Prophet (SAWS) was his uncle. 3. Asma, the daughter of Abu Bakr Siddiq (R A) and the elder sister of Aaisha Siddiqah (R Anhuma), was married to Zubair (R A) and thus he was a brother-in-law of the Prophet (SAWS) 4. Qusai, the son of Kalab, was the common ancestor of both the Prophet(SAWS) and Zubair(R A), and in this way Zubair had also ancestral relation with the Prophet (SAWS) . His father, Al Awwaam, died when Zubair (R A) was still a child, so he came under the guardianship of his uncle Naufil the son of Khwailid. His mother Safiyyah, a bold and courageous lady as she was, wanted to bring up her child Zubair also as a bold and courageous man. So she would compel him to work hard and become sturdy and stout. For this reason she would often beat the young boy mercilessly. One day seeing the boy being beaten mercilessly by Safiyah, Naufil became restless. He complained to the nobles of Bani Hashim, the tribe to which Safiyah belonged, against her being so unkind to the boy. When Safiyah heard about it, she declared, It is mistaken to state that I beat Zubair with enmity, I beat him in such a way only to make him wise. This may be understood well by the incident narrated by Haafidh ibn Hajar (R), a famous historian. He writes: Once, Zubair while in his boyhood, was confronted in a brawl against a full grown up man and had to fight, he struck the full grown up man in such a manner that the man lost one of his hands. But when people complained against Zubair to Safiyyah, she did not mind, She rather asked with great fondness, how they found Zubair in the fighting, Did he prove himself to be brave or a coward? It was this sort of training from his mother that Zubair (R A) became one of the great brave men of his age. He was always ready to face any danger and to endure any pain and trouble. During the early days of Islam, one day a rumor was spread in Mecca that the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) has been made captive by the idolaters of Quraish, someone even lied that the Prophet (SAWS) was martyred. Zubair, who had come home to rest for a while, also heard this rumor. Although then he was only a boy of sixteen years, hearing the rumor upset him so much that he at once rushed out of his house with a naked sword in hand. He, however, thought it necessary to ascertain the rumors, thus he went straight to the house of the Prophet(SAWS), with a red face and a unsheathed sword in his hand. Seeing him in such a state the Prophet (SAWS) asked, What is the matter with you brother? Why there is a naked sword in your hand today? Zubair (R A) replied, O Messenger of Allaah , thanks to Allaah that you are quite safe and secure. May my parents be sacrificed for you! I heard the rumor that the idolaters had made you captive or even martyred you. The Prophet (SAWS) said (with a smile on his face), So, this is the matter which made you so restless. Well, suppose if the rumors would have been true then what would you have done? The young boy cried out: O Messenger of Allaah , by Allaah ! I alone would have declared war against the whole of Mecca. I would have preferred to die then to live after you were murdered. Hearing this statement of the boy Zubair (R A) the Prophet smiled again and pointing towards the sword of Zubair declared, This is the first sword raised for the cause of Allaah and His Prophet. Zubair(R A) belonged to the family that was blessed with the light of Islam at its advent. His aunt Khadijah (RadhiAllaahu Anha) was the first lady of Islam, his mother Safiyah also accepted Islam in its early days. So it was quite natural for Zubair that he too became an early and true follower of Islam between the age of twelve and sixteen years, and this is why he attained a prominent position among the earliest companions of the Prophet (SAWS) . As we have seen above, Zubairs uncle Naufil was very kind and affectionate to him, but this was only till the time when Zubair wasnt in the fold of Islam. As soon as Zubair accepted the Oneness of Allaah and the Prophethood of Muhammad (SAWS) his uncle Naufil became his worst enemy. Now, that very Naufil who would become restless when seeing Zubair being beaten by his mother, now started to treat him worse than an enemy. The historians say, the enmity and hostility of Naufil against Zubair knew no bounds. He, usually would wrap him up into a mattress and lit fire around him. In this condition when he was engulfed by smoke, his cruel uncle would ask, Are you ready to come back to your ancestral religion or not? To which he would firmly reply, No, never! It is now impossible for me to give up the religion of Allaah . I must die as a Muslim and not as an infidel. More Details of his Hardsips & Difficulties Hadhrat Abul Aswad narrates that Hadhrat Zubayr bin Awwaam (R A) accepted Islaam when he was only eight years of age and migrated (to Madinah) when he was eighteen years old. The uncle of Hadhrat Zubair used to hang him up in a straw mat and use a fire to make smoke from the bottom. He would then say, Return to kufr! Hadhrat Zubair used to say, I shall never be a Kaafir again! Hadhrat Hafs bin Khaalid narrates that an old man from Mosul came to them and said that he had accompanied Hadhrat Zubair bin Awwaam (R A) on a journey. He said: We were in an arid land when Hadhrat Zubair required a bath. He therefore told me to arrange for some privacy, which I did. (As he was bathing,) My gaze accidentally fell on his body and I noticed his entire body scarred by sword wounds. I said, By Allaah! The scars I have seen on you I have never seen on anyone else. He asked, Did you see them? Yes, I replied. He responded by saying, Every wound of these was sustained with Rasulullaah in the path of Allaah . Hadhrat Ali bin Zaid narrates that someone who saw Hadhrat Zubair informed him that there were scars resembling eyes on his chest which were made by arrows and spears. Hijrah: When the cruelty of his uncle exceeded all limits, Zubair (R A) left Mecca for Habasha (modern-day Ethiopia) with the permission of the Prophet (SAWS) . He did not stay there for long; after some time he came back to Mecca and started business. The Hijra (migration) of the Prophet(SAWS) from Mecca to Medina occurred during the days Zubair was in Syria for business. While coming back to Mecca from Syria, he met the Prophet (SAWS) and Abu Bakr Siddiq (R A) while they were on their way from Mecca to Medina. After sometime, he too came over to Madina with Safiyah and his wife Asma. In Medina the Prophet (SAWS) had established Muakhah or the relationship of Islamic Brotherhood, between the Muhajirs (migrants) of Mecca and Ansar (residers) of Medina. According to this relationship, he was among those companions of the Prophet who took part in the First Pledge of Aqaba, due to which the Prophet (SAWS) migrated to Medina. Zubair(R A) was a man of courage and strength and was always ready to expose himself to danger for the sake of Allaah and His Messenger(SAWS). During the Battle of Trench (Khandaq), when the non-believers took a siege of Madina and Muslims were facing an extremely dangerous situation, the Messenger of Allaah (SAWS) asked who would bring the news of the people of Madina; Zubair without any hesitation raised the hand and said he would. The Messenger (SAWS) asked the question three times and every time Zubair (R A) raised the hand. The Messenger of Allaah(SAWS) was so pleased with Zubair that once he said, every prophet used to have a hawari (disciple), and my hawari is Zubair Ibn Awwam. On one occasion the Messenger is reported to have said, “Zubair and Talha (R Anhum) are my companions in Paradise.” It was Zubair who along with Ali Ibn Abu Talib (R A) stormed the castles of traitor Banu Quraidha and caused them to surrender. His body was full of scars and wounds so much so that once during Hajj, when he was wearing Ihram with his chest exposed, someone said to him, I have never seen before a body like yours, to which Zubair replied, “None of these wounds has happened except when I was in the company of Prophet Muhammad(SAWS), fighting in the Cause of Allaah .” The true mettle of Zubair (R A) came into light on the Day of Uhud, when the Muslims were defeated. The day battered their morale as 70 Companions were martyred in the battle, and most of them badly injured. It was at this situation that the Messenger of Allaah(SAWS) called upon the Muslims to gather strength and head once again for the war as Abu Sufian was coming back to attack Madina to completely annihilate the Muslims, considering their lost morale after the defeat at Uhud. Zubair(R A) responded to the call of the Messenger(SAWS) despite being wounded and along with Abu Bakr(R A) led the Muslims for the second clash; however the second clash did not materialise. Zubair(R A) joined the army of Ayesha at the Battle of Camel and had the impression that he was fighting for the just cause as there was a lot of misinformation spread by the enemies of Islam. However, when he got to know the truth, he immediately withdrew from the war without thinking of its consequences. He was later assassinated while he was performing prayers. He died a death which the real Momin would swoon over. May Allaah be pleased with him. Aameen
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 20:41:44 +0000