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

THE LlVES OF THE SAHABAH m.=> (Vol-I) 349
Ayaash took pity on his mother. I said to him, 'Beware of them because I swear
by Allaah that all they want is to take you away from your Deen. By Allaah! When
the lice start harassing your mother, she will start combing her hair and when
the heat of Makkah becomes unbearable, she will have to take shade.' However,
Ayaash said, 'I shall fulfil the vow pf my mother. In any case, I still have some
wealth in Makkah that I need to collect.' I pleaded with him saying, By Allaah!
You know that I am one of the wealthiest people of the Quraysh. You can have
half of my wealth if you do not go with them.' In spite of this, he refused my offer
and insisted on going with them. When I saw that he was adamant to go, I said
to him, 'Since you want to do as you want to do, at least take this camel of mine
for she is of good pedigree and very obedient. Stay on her and if you doubt
anything your people do, use her to (escape and) save yourself."
Hadhrat Umar ~,G%&j narrates further, "Ayaash then left with the two and on the
road, Abu Jahal said to him, 'Dear brother! By Allaah, this camel of mine has
become very lazy. Will you not allow me to ride with you on that camel?'
'Certainly,' replied Ayaash. He therefore made the camel sit down and the two
others also made their camels sit so that Abu Jahal could change camels. When
they were on the ground, the two men attacked Ayaash and tied him up very
securely. They then took him to Makkah and when they pressurised him to
forsake Islaam, he succumbed to the pressure. We believed that Allaah would
never accept the repentance of a person who forsakes Islaam and this is what
those who forsook Islaam also thought. Itwasonlywhen Rasulullaah @%% arrived
in Madinah that Allaah revealed the following verses of the Qur'aan:
Say, "0 My bondsmen who have wronged their souls (by committing
kufr or other sins)! Never lose hope of Allaah's mercy (so do not abstain
from seeking forgiveness thinking that you will not be forgiven). Verily,
Allaah forgives all sins (thatare fieeofkufrand Shirk). Undoubtedly, He is
the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful." Turn to your Rabb and
surrender to Him before punishment afflicts you, after which you will
not be assisted. Follow the best (the injunctions of Islaam), which your
Rabb has revealed to you before punishment suddenly afflicts you (for
not accepting Islaam) without your realising it. {Surah Zumar, verses
53-55)
Hadhrat Umar b- says that he wrote down these verses and sent them to
Hishaam bin Aas. Hishaam says, "When the verses reached me, I started reading
them at Dhu Tuwa and looked at them from top to bottom but could not