Abu Ubaidah Ibn Al-Jarraah (The Trustworthy of This Nation) Who was the man whose right hand the Prophet PBUH held and said, In every nation there exists a man worthy of all trust and the trustworthy of this nation is Abu Ubaidah Ibn Al-Jarraah. Who was the man whom the Prophet sent with reinforcements to Amr Ibn Al-Aas in the Dhaat As-Salaasil Expedition and made commander of the army that included Umar and Abu Bakr? Who was this Companion who was the 1st to be called the Commander of the Commanders? Who was that tall, slim man with gaunt face? Who was that strong, trustworthy man about whom Umar Ibn Al-Khattab said on his deathbed, If Abu Ubaidah Ibn Al-Jarraah were alive, I would have entrusted him with the caliphate, and if Allah asked me about him, I would say, I assigned the caliphate to the trustworthy of Allah and His Prophet, Abu Ubaidah Ibn Al-Jarraah. He embraced Islam at the hands of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq at the dawn of Islam, even before the Prophet walked into Daar Al-Arqam. He emigrated to Abyssinia during the 2nd emigration, then returned to stand by the Prophet at Badr, Uhud, and the rest of the great battles. In the Battle of Uhud, he realized from the way the battle was conducted that the disbelievers 1st priority was to kill the great Messenger PBUH. To them, achieving victory was of secondary importance compared to killing the Prophet PBUH. Therefore, he decided to stay very close to where he was. Abu Ubaidah lost his self-control when he saw an arrow hit the Prophet during the battle, he managed to disperse the enemy and darted towards the Prophet PBUH then exclaimed, How can they succeed after they tinged with blood the face of their Prophet who invites them to the way of Allah?! When Abu Ubaidah saw the two rings of the Prophets chain mail that had pierced his cheeks, he rushed and held the 1st one with his front teeth and pulled it out. Yet as it fell, it took out his upper front teeth as well, and the same thing happened to the lower front teeth when he pulled out the 2nd ring! Thus, he lost his teeth. The Prophet PBUH appointed him as a commander in Al-Khabat Expedition, he had no supplies except for a knapsack full of dates. When they ran out of dates, they had to pick up withered leaves with their bows and crush and swallow them with water! Hence, the Expedition was called Al-Khabat (i.e. The Struggle). They proceeded regardless of the danger and the risks. The Prophet PBUH gave him preference over everyone else. When the Najraan delegation arrived from Yemen after they had embraced Islam, they asked the Prophet to send someone to them to teach them the Quraan, Sunnah and Islam. Umar Ibn Al-Khattab narrated, I have never craved command in my life except on that day, in hope that I would be the man whom the Prophet held in such high esteem. The Prophet ordered Abu Ubaidah and said, Go with them and judge in truth between them in the matters in which they dispute. When Khalid Ibn Al-Waliid was the commander of the Muslim armies in one of the great decisive battles, the 1st action Umar took was to dismiss Khalid and assign Abu Ubaidah in his place. When Abu Ubaidah received the message from Umar he decided to conceal it. When Khalid achieved his great victory, and only then, did Abu Ubaidah relay to him the message with extraordinary politeness. On reading the message Khalid asked him, May Allah bestow His mercy on you, Abu Ubaidah. What made you keep that message from me? He answered, I was afraid lest it should cause any confusion that might affect the armys morale. We do not crave life or its splendor. We are brothers before Allah. Thus Abu Ubaidah was assigned as the commander-in-chief in Syria. His army was the mightiest and best equipped among the Muslim armies. One day the Commander of the Faithful visited Syria and Abu Ubaidah invited him to his home where he had no furniture. In fact, he had nothing but a sword, a shield, and a saddlebag. Umar asked him, smiling, why dont you furnish your house as people do? He readily answered, O Commander of the Faithful, as you see, I have a room to sleep in and that is enough for me. Umar received the news of Abu Ubaidahs death, he exclaimed, If I were to make a wish, I would have wished a house full of men just like Abu Ubaidah.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 10:47:38 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015