Sahabah makes dakwah towards the Persian

Hadhrat Muhammad, Hadrat Talha, Hadhrat Amr and Hadhrat Ziyaad all reports that Hadhrat Sa'd bin Abi Waqqaas sent for Hadhrat Mughiera and few others and said to them, "I intend sending you to those people (the Persians). What have you to say about it?" They all said in one voice, "We shall do as you command and do no more. If a situation arises concerning which there are no directives from you, we shall look for what is best and most beneficial for the people and discuss that with them.

"Hadhrat Sa'd then said to them, "Such is the behaviour of intelligent and experienced people. Go and get ready." Hadhrat Rib'ee ibn Aamir then said, 'The non-Arabs have their own peculiar ideas and etiquette and if we all go to them, they will feel that we are placing them on a pedestal. Do not send more than one person." When the other agreed with this, Hadhrat Rib'ee volunteered to go first. Hadhrat Sa'd then sent him and Hadhrat Rib'ee left to meet Rustam in his cantonment.

However, the sentries at the bridge stopped Hadhrat Rib'ee and sent a message to Rustam, informing him of the arrival. Rustam consulted with some leaders of Persia, asking, "What are your opinions? Should we boast only about our military superiority or should we make them feel worthless (by displaying our wealth and riches)?" They were all unanimous about making the Muslims seem worthless, so they made a display of their opulent commodities, they laid out exquisite carpets and cushions and spared nothing in their effort.A golden throne was made for Rustam and he dressed most lavishly. Expensive rugs and cushions woven with gold thread were also laid out.

Hadhrat Rib'ee arrived on his short, long-haired horse, carrying a shining sword. His scabbard was a pouch made of old cloth and his spear was tied with a leather strap. He also carried a shield made of cow's hide, the face of which had round patches of red leather that resembled bread. He also carried his bow and arrows with him. When he came to the court and reached the first of the rugs, he was told to alight from his horse. He however rode the horse on the rug and alighted only when it stood properly on the rug. He then tore up two cushions, pierced the horse's reins through them and tied the horse up.All this while, the people there were unable to stop him.

Hadhrat Rib'ee knew well that they were displaying everything to him to make him feel inferior, so he wished to get the upper hand over them (because of which he did what he did to show them that their wealth held no attraction for him).The armour Hadhrat Rib'ee was wearing flowed over him like a dam and he wore the hide of a camel over it like a cloak. He had made a hole in the hide, drew it over his head and tied it about his waist with a cord made from plant fibres. Hadhrat Rib'ee was amongst the hairiest of all Arabs and his hair was tied with the leather reins of a camel. His hair was separated into four lock; that stoodlike the horns of a mountain goat.The people told him to put down his weapons, to which he replied, "I have not come here by my own accord, so you cannot instruct me to drop my weapons. It is you who have sent for me, so if you do not want me to come as I please, I might as well go back." When this was reported to Rustam, he said, "Allow him in. He is but one person.

"Hadhrat Rib'ee arrived, leaning on his spear that had a sharp head. He took short steps and tore the rugs and cushions (with the spear) as he walked. There was no cushion or rug that he did not. ruin, leaving them all torn and tattered after him. When he came up to Rustam, the sentries surrounded him. Hadhrat Rib'ee then sat on the ground and stuck his spear into the rug. "What made you do that?" they asked, Hadhrat Rib'ee replied, "We do not like to sit on those decorated places of yours."Rustam then addressed Hadhrat Rib'ee saying, 'Whatbringsyou here?" "Allah has sent us," Hadhrat Rib'ee replied, "Allah has sent us to remove whoever He wills from servitude to man and to lead him to the servitude of Allah. Allah has sent us to remove them from the narrowness of this world towards its vastness and from the oppression of other religions towards the justice of Islaam ..."The narration then continues, as has been quoted in the chapter discussing the Da'wah that the Sahabah gave during the Khilaafah of Hadhrat Umar. The narration proceeds to state that Rustam said to the courtiers (when they criticised Hadhrat Rib'ee's appearance), "Shame on you! Do not look at clothing but rather look at the prudence, the speech and the personality.

The Arabs care little for clothing and food but are covetous about their lineage. They do not dress like you and have different tastes."The Persians then approached Hadhrat Rib'ee to have a look at his weapons, regarding them to be inferior. He said to them, "Do you wish to show me your military prowess and I shall show you mine?" He then drew his sword from his cloth pouch and it flashed like a flame of fire. "Sheath it!" they called out (in terror). He then sheathed his sword. They then fired arrows at his shield while he fired arrows at theirs. Their shield was shattered while his shield remained intact. He then addressed them saying, "0 Persians! While you have given great importance to food and drink, we treat it with little ceremony." He then went back after giving them time (three days) to consider their position.The following day, the Persians sent a message saying that they wanted the same person sent back to them. Hadhrat Sa'd however sent Hadhrat Hudhayfah bin Mihsin. He also arrived in simple attire as Hadhrat Rib'ee wore. When he also came to the first rug, he was told to alight from his animal. He however said, "That I would have done if 1 had come to you for my own needs. Ask your king whether I have come for his need or for mine. If he says that it is for my own need, he is lying and I shall return and leave you alone. However, if he says that it is for his own need, then I shall come as I please.".

Rustam instructed the sentries to allow Hadhrat Hudhayfah in and he rode up to Rustam who was seated on his throne. "You may get off your animal," Rustam said. "I shall not," Hadhrat Hudhayfah replied. When he saw that Hadhrat Hudhayfah would not get off the animal, Rustam asked, "What is the matter that you have come and not your companion who came yesterday?" Hadhrat Hudhayfah replied, "Our leader wishes to treat us equally in favourable and adverse conditions. It is my turn today.""What brings you people here?" Rustam asked. Hadhrat Hudhayfah replied, "Allah has favoured us with His religion and shown us His signs until we realised that it was the truth even though we had been opposed to it. He then commanded us to invite people to one of three options. We shall accept any of the three options they choose. Either you accept Islaam and we shall leave you alone. Otherwise, you may choose to pay the Jizya and we shall stand in your defence whenever the need arises. The next option is battle." "Do we have a few days to enter into an agreement?" Rustam asked. Hadhrat Hudhayfah replied, "You have three days which started yesterday.

"When Rustam received from Hadhrat Hudhayfah nothing more than he got from Hadhrat Rib'ee , he sent him away and addressed his companions saying, "Shame on you people! Do you not see what I see? The first man came to us yesterday and defeated us on our premises. He degraded what we were enamoured with, stood his horse on our opulence and even tied his horse to it. He took a good omen from what he did and returned to his people, taking some of our soil with him. That was apart from his superior intelligence. Today this other man arrived and stood over us, also taking a good omen from it by taking our land after expelling us from it."

Rustam however infuriated the others and they also infuriated him (by refusing to listen to him).The following day, the Persians again asked for someone to be sent to them and this time, Hadhrat Mughiera bin Shu'ba ; was sent.

lbn Jareer (Vo1.3 Pg 33)

Another narration continues the narrative, staying that when Hadhrat Mughiera ached the bridge to cross over into Persian territory, he was halted by the sentries who first sought permission from Rustam to allow him in. The Persians, however, did not leave out any of the pomp and ceremony in their effort to make the Arabs feel inferior. Therefore, when Hadhrat Mughiera arrived, the Persians still boasted their opulence. They wore crowns, garments woven from gold threads and carpets were laid out the distance that an arrow travelled. The only way to reach the king was over this length of carpet.Hadhrat Mughiera who also wore four locks of hair walked up to Rustam and sat with him on his throne and cushion. The courtiers sprang up, grabbed at him and brought him down, even hitting him mildly. Hadhrat Mughiera addressed them saying, "We have always heard that you people were intelligent, but I do not think that there is any nation more foolish than you. We Arabs treat each other as equals and do not make slaves of each other unless circumstances of war demand.

I had always thought that you people also practice equality amongst yourselves just as we do. Rather than doing what you just did, it would have been better if you just told me that some of you prevail as masters over others. If sitting beside Rustam was not palatable to you, we will then not do so again. 1 would have not come to you had you not sent for me, but today I can see that your sovereignty is soon to vanish and that you will be vanquished because no power can survive with such a way of life and with such a mentality."(Hearing this) The common people shouted, "The Arab is right!" To this, the leaders remarked, "By Allah! He has made a statement towards which our slaves will always be referring us! May Allah destroy our elders! How foolish were they to regard these people (the Arabs) as insignificant (they should have realised the threat and wiped them out a long time ago) ..." The narration then continues to mention the questions Rustam asked and the replies Hadhrat Mughiera gave him.

Ibn Jareer (Vo1.3 Pg.36)

Hayatus Sahabah

(The Emperor of Persia) Yazdgird once wrote to the Emperor of China to seek reinforcements. Addressing the Persian envoy, the Chinese Emperor said, "I know well that it is the duty of any Emperor to assist another against those who are overpowering him. However, I want you to describe to me these people who are driving you out of your lands because I gather from what you said that they are fewer in number than you. From what you have described to me, people as few as them cannot overpower an adversary as many as you unless there is tremendous good in them and rot within you.""You may ask me whatever you please about them," the envoy said.The Emperor then asked, "Do they fulfil their promises?""Yes," the envoy replied.

The next question was, "What do they tell you before they engage you in combat?""They invite us to accept one of three options. We either accept their religion, in which case they treat us as they treat each other. Otherwise, we may accept to pay the Jizya and thus receive their protection. The final option is to face them in battle."The Emperor then asked, "How obedient are they towards their leaders.""They are the most obedient of all people towards their leaders," came the reply.The Emperor further asked, "What do they regard as lawful and what do they regard as unlawful?"When the envoy gave him a detailed reply, the Emperor asked, "And do they forbid what has been made lawful for them or make lawful what has been forbidden for them?""This they do not do," the envoy replied.The Emperor then said, "Such a nation will never be destroyed as long as they regard what is lawful as lawful and what is unlawful as unlawful."The next question the Emperor asked was about the clothing the Sahabah r.hum wore. When the envoy described it to him, he then asked about the modes of transport the Sahabah r.hum used.

The envoy described the Arab horses that the Sahabah used in detail, after which the Emperor remarked, "Those make excellent fortresses." The envoy then went on to describe the camels that they used and even explained how they sit and then get up with their loads. The Emperor (who had probably never seen a camel before) notes, "That is common with all animals that have long necks."The Chinese Emperor then wrote back to Yazdgird saying, "It is not ignorance of my duty that prevents me from sending to your aid an army so large that while the first of it is in Marw (the Persian city of), the last is still here in China.

However, the description of these people whom your envoy has described to me tells me that if they had to come up against a mountain, they would certainly shatter it. If they are left to advance and retain their qualities, they will soon remove me from my kingship. Enter into a treaty with them and be content to abide by the clauses of the treaty. You should however never attack them as long as they do not attack you."

Ibn Jareer (Vol.3 Pg.249)

Laporan Jemaah Dari Australia

Venue: Masjid sri Petaling
Penceramah memulakan laporan selepas memuji Allah dan berselawat kepada Nabi SAW dan membaca 2 potong ayat al Quran.

1. Allah SWT telah pilih kita untuk lahir sebagai orang Islam. Sebelum kita lahir ke dunia, kita tidak pernah diberi pilihan untuk menjadi muslim atau kafir. Semata-mata dengan sifat RahimNya, Allah telah jadikan kita seorang muslim. Jadi kita kena bersyukur atas nikmat yang sangat besar ini.

2. Allah telah menghantar kita sebagai umat Muhammad SAW dengan satu maksud yang sangat besar iaitu sebagaimana maksud semua Nabi telah dihantar.

3. Allah telah ciptakan manusia dengan jasad dan roh. Perkara paling berharga bagi manusia (supaya jasad dan roh ini dapat dimanfaatkan) adalah masa. Seorang yang kematian isteri, boleh cari isteri yang lain. Seorang yang kematian anak, boleh dapat anak yang lain. Seorang yang terbakar rumahnya, boleh cari rumah yang lain. Seorang yang rugi dalam perniagaannya, boleh bina perniagaan yang lain. Tetapi seorang yang telah berlalu masanya, masa itu tak dapat diganti semula. Masa yang berlalu akan terus pergi buat selama-lamanya.

4. Allah begitu kasih kepada orang-orang beriman sehingga menjadikan sekecil-kecil perkara sebagai sebab penghapus dosa. Sehingga tercucuk duri pun Allah akan hapuskan dosa dari buku catatan amal. Diceritakan kisah seorang raja kafir yang zalim ketika hendak mati berhajat untuk makan sejenis makanan yang sukar didapati. Allah telah perintahkan malaikat untuk mendapatkan makanan itu untuk raja tersebut. Setelah makan, raja itu telah mati. Dalam kisah yang lain pula seorang alim yang warak ketika hendak mati telah meminta sedikit air. Apabila orang datang membawa air, Allah telah perintahkan malaikat untuk menepis cawan tersebut sehingga air tertumpah dan orang warak itu mati tanpa dapat minum air. Kedua-dua malaikat telah datang mengadap Allah dan mengadukan hal tersebut. Allah berfirman kepada kedua malaikat tersebut bahawa ketika hidup, raja yang zalim tersebut telah melakukan satu kebaikan dan Allah hendak mambalas kebaikan tersebut di dunia dan azab yang kekal menantinya di akhirat kerana kekafirannya. Manakala orang warak tersebut telah berbuat satu dosa ketika hidup dan Allah hendak menghapuskan dosa tersebut ketika di dunia dan memberikan keselamatan kepadanya di akhirat.

5. Di akhirat nanti, orang yang dalam hatinya ada iman walau sebesar zarah akan dikeluarkan juga akhirnya dari neraka. Manakala orang kafir akan kekal di dalamnya.

6. Dakwah dan iman adalah dua perkara yang berkaitan. Adanya dakwah maka adalah iman. Jika tiada dakwah, maka iman akan keluar dari hati-hati manusia. Nabi Nuh as telah berdakwah selama 950 tahun siang dan malam. Kemudian baginda telah berdoa supaya jangan ditinggalkan di atas dunia ini walau satu pun orang kafir. Maka Allah telah menghantar banjir yang besar dan menenggelamkan semua orang kafir. Yang terselamat hanyalah nabi Nuh as dan orang-orang yang beriman. Selepas kewafatan nabi Nuh as, dakwah telah terhenti. Dari keturunan orang yang beriman tadi akhirnya telah kembali kufur kepada Allah.

7. Pada kurun ke 18, orang British telah menakluki Australia dan mendapati ada 3 buah gurun yang besar di sana. Untuk menyelesaikan masalah pengangkutan, mereka telah membawa 120 ekor unta untuk digunakan mengangkut barang-barang di padang pasir. Oleh kerana mereka tidak tahu mengendalikan unta maka mereka telah membawa ramai orang-orang Islam dari benua India yang kebanyakannya berketurunan afghan. Di kalangan pekerja-pekerja ini terdapat sejumlah bilangan dari golongan ulama. Ulama-ulama ini telah membina 60 masjid dan 3 daripadanya yang berusia lebih 100 tahun masih bertahan sehingga kini. Malangnya bila usaha dakwah ditinggalkan, keturunan dari mereka ini tidak lagi kenal Islam walaupun nama-nama mereka seperti nama-nama Islam.

8. Pada suatu masa jemaah yang bergerak di Australia telah dibawa untuk jumpa 3 wanita tua dari keturunan pekerja-pekerja tersebut, masing-masing berumur lebih 85 tahun. Ternyata mereka tidak tahu apa-apa mengenai amalan Islam kecuali kalimah Laailaha illallah, Muhammadur rasulullah. Bila mereka nampak jemaah memegang tasbih di tangan, mereka mengatakan bapa-bapa mereka dahulu memegang tasbih seperti kamu. Jemaah telah menghadiahkan kepada mereka tasbih tersebut dan mereka rasa sungguh gembira.

9. Satu laporan lagi dari jemaah yang membuat usaha dakwah di Thursday Island. Di sana, 90% penduduknya adalah daripada keturunan Islam. Tetapi amalan Islam telah lenyap dari diri mereka. Jemaah telah dibawa berjumpa seorang lagi wanita tua berusia lebih 80 tahun. Bila wanita tua ini terlihat saja kepada jemaah (yang dalam keadaan berjanggut, berjubah, berserban), maka dia telah menjerit dengan mangatakan, ‘Muslim has come, muslim has come.’ Dia telah keluarkan satu beg dari bawah katil dan menunjukkan kepada jemaah peninggalan arwah bapanya yang berupa sejadah dan beberapa kitab selawat. Perempuan tua itu bercerita semasa umurnya 10 tahun, bapanya telah meninggal dunia. Sebelum itu dia sempat berwasiat, ‘You don’t be worry. Muslim will come and take of you because muslim are always taking care of each other.’ Perempuan tua itu menambah, ‘And I have been waiting for you (muslim) for 70 years.’(*Wakil jemaah Australia yang berceramah telah sebak dan menangis. Juga, kami yang mendengar laporan ).

10. Pembayan memberi laporan bahawa beliau telah berpindah ke Australia dari Tanah Arab pada tahun 1968. Walaupun ada 80 ribu orang Islam di Melbourne tetapi hanya ada 1 masjid sahaja. Itupun dibuka 2 kali setahun untuk solat hari raya. Solat Jumaat hanya dibuat oleh 3-4 orang di sebuah surau yang lain. Beliu ada mendengar laporan bahawa jemaah pertama dihantar ke Australia adalah pada tahun 1962. Jemaah ini hanya mampu menangis dan berdoa apabila melihat keadaan agama pada umat.

11. Jemaah seterusnya dihantar pada tahun 1973. Jemaah tersebut balik dan beri laporan kepada Maulana Inamul Hassan bahawa orang Islam di Australia sudah tiada harapan. Maulana Inamul Hassan tidak berputus asa dan menghantar jemaah lagi pada tahun 1974 dan 1975. Pada tahun 1975 ini, 3 orang tempatan (termasuk abang penceramah) telah sedia untuk menghidupkan amalan ziarah pintu ke pintu untuk bertemu dengan orang-orang Islam. Beberapa lama amalan ini berterusan, mereka telah bermesyuarat dan memutuskan untuk meminta kunci masjid. Kunci masjid telah diberi kepada mereka dengan senang hati dan semenjak itu masjid tersebut tidak pernah ditutup lagi sehingga ke hari ini.

12. Amal-amal masjid telah dihidupkan. Jemaah-jemaah telah dikeluarkan dan usaha telah berkembang. Alhamdulillah sekarang telah ada lebih 80 masjid dan surau di Melbourne. Madrasah-madrasah telah wujud. Anak-anak yang dulunya belajar di madrasah sekarang telah mengajar pula. Penceramah berkata dengan matanya sendiri dia dapat melihat apabila dakwah ditinggalkan, dari keturunan ulama akan lahir orang-orang kufar. Apabila dakwah dijalankan, dari keturunan kufar, lahirnya ulama.

13. Kerja ini bukanlah kerja main-main. Bukan kerja yang dibuat sekiranya suka, dan ditinggalkan sekiranya malas. Ini adalah kerja tanggungjawab kita sebagai umat Nabi SAW walaupun kita bukan Nabi. Ini adalah perintah Allah kepada kita.

14. Bila kita buat kerja ini, Allah pasti akan beri hidayat kepada manusia. Seluruh manusia sekarang sedang menanti-nanti kedatangan kita sebagai orang Islam kepada mereka (seperti kisah orang tua tadi).