Hayatus Sahabah - The Lives of the Sahabah - Part 1 of 3

THE LIVES OF THE SAHABAH mG-3 (Vol-I) 181
involved with."'
"When I made up my mind to leave for Rasulullaah m, I wondered who would
accompany me. I apprdached Safwaan bin Umayyah and said to him, '0 Abu
Wahab! Do you not see the sijuation we find ourselves in? We are as few as the
molars (in the mouth). Muhammad @%%has dominated the Arabs and
non-Arabs. I feel that we should meet him and follow him then his honour shall
be ours.' Safwaan vehemently rejected the offer and said, 'I shall never follow him
even though I am the last person left!' Leaving him: I said to myself, 'Both his
brother and father had been killed in the Battle of Badr (because of which he is
so reluctant to accept Islaam).' I then met Ikrama bin Abi Jahal and told him what
I had mentioned to Safwaan. His response was similar to that of Safwaan.
Nevertheless, I told him to keep it a secr
eed not to breathea word
to anyone."
"I then went home and had my conveyance prepared. As I was riding out, I met
Uthmaan bin Talha and said to myself, 'He is a good friend of mine. Perhaps I
should tell him what ! intend doing.' I then remembered that many of his
relatives had been killed (by the Muslims in battle) and it would not be
appropriate to mention it to him. However, it occurred to me that here was no
harm in telling him since I was already on my,way. I therefore spoke to him
about .the (unfavourable) results of our efforts (against the Muslims) and said,
'We are jdst like a fox in his hole who will have to emerge as soon as a bucket of
water is thrown down the hole.' I also told him what I had mentioned to my two
friends eirlier. He immediately accepted what I said. I told him that I was leaving
that very day and that my transport was ready and waiting at a place called Faj.
We then decided to meet at a place called Yajuj where I was to wait for him if I
arrived first, otherwise he would wait for me if he arrived first."
'We left our homes very early in the morning and met at Yajuj before the break of
dawn. We then proceeded together from there and when we reached Hada, we
met Hadhrat Amr bin A1 Aas SB%i!&. After he had welcomed us and we had
welcomed him, he asked us where we were heading. We asked him what had
brought him from his home and he asked us the same question. We then said to
him, 'We intend entering the fold of Islaam and following Muhammad m.' He
responded by saying, 'That is exactly what has brought me.' We then joined forces
until we reached Madinah where we left our conveyances at a place called Harra.
Rasulullaah
was already informed about our arrival and was very pleased. I
wore my best clothes and headed for Rasulullaah w."
"My brother met me and said, 'Hurry! Rasulullaah @@ has been informed about
you and is pleased about your arrival. He is eagerly waiting for you." We walked
hastily until we arrived and Rasulullaah @$# smiled with me until I came in front
of him. I greeted him as the Nabi of Allaah and he replied to my greeting with a
smiling face. I then said, 'I testify that there is none worthy of worship but Allaah
and that you are Allaah's Rasul.' He called me closer and said, 'All praise belongs
to Allaah Who has guided you. When I saw your intelligence I hoped'that it would