Volume 8 Surah 9 - Enjoy Islam

Al-Tawbah (The Repentance) | THE EARTH’S SUFFOCATING EXPANSEMu`ādh ibn Jabal said to him: ‘What a foul remark! Messenger of God, wehave known nothing bad of the man.’ The Prophet made no comment.I soon heard that the Prophet and his Companions had started on theirjourney back from Tabūk. I felt very sad. To tell a lie was paramount in mymind. I started thinking about what to say to the Prophet tomorrow, after hisarrival, in order to spare myself his anger. I sought the help of everyone inmy household. When it was mentioned that the Prophet was soon to arrive,all thoughts of seeking a false excuse disappeared from my mind. I realizedthat the only way to spare myself the Prophet’s anger was to tell the truth. Iwas determined, therefore, to say exactly what happened.The Prophet then arrived in Madinah. It was his habit when he came backfrom travelling to go first to the mosque and pray two rak`ahs before sitting tomeet the people. When he did that, those who had stayed behind went to himand stated their excuses, swearing to their truth. They were over 80 people.The Prophet accepted their statements and oaths and prayed to God toforgive them, leaving it to God to judge them by His knowledge. I thenfollowed and greeted the Prophet. He met my greeting with an angry smile.He then told me to come forward. I went to him and sat down facing him. Hesaid, ‘What caused you to stay behind? Have you not bought your transport?’I said to him, ‘Messenger of God, had I been speaking to anyone on the faceof the earth other than you, I would have been able to avoid his anger bygiving some sort of an excuse. I can make a case for myself. But I know forcertain that if I were to tell you lies in order to win your pleasure, God wouldsoon make the truth known to you and I would incur your displeasure. If, onthe other hand, I tell you the truth and you are not happy with me because ofit, I would hope for a better result from God. By God, I have no excusewhatsoever. I have never been more physically able or in better circumstancesthan I was when I stayed behind.’ The Prophet said to me: ‘You havecertainly said the truth. You await God’s judgement.’After I left, some men from the clan of Salamah followed me and said: `Wehave never known you to commit a sin before this. You could certainly havegiven the Prophet an excuse like all those who stayed behind. You wouldhave been spared this trouble had the Prophet prayed to God to forgive you,as he would surely have done.’ They continued pressing me on this to theextent that I wished to go back to the Prophet and tell him that I was lying.Before I did that, however, I asked whether anyone else said the same thingas I did. They replied that two more people said the same and were given thesame answer. When I asked their names, they mentioned Murārah ibn al-Rabī` and Hilāl ibn Umayyah. I knew these two to be men of faith and sincere230