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

THE LIVES OF THE SAHABAH '@g&% (Vol-I) 41 1
and better." When Rasulullaah #& asked him how much he had left for them,
he replied, "The sustenance and good that Allaah and His Rasool #& have
promised."
A Sahabi from the Ansaar by the name of Abu Aqeel%,- brought a mere Saa
of dates, which was his donation. When the Munaafiqeen saw the donations,
they started mocking. If someone donated a large sum, they would say that he
was a show-off and when another donated a small amount of dates, which was
all he could afford, they would say, "He is more in need of what he has brought."
When Hadhrat Abu Aqeel ~,GW brought his Saa of dates, he said, "I spent the
entire night pulling a rope (to draw water from a well) in exchange for two Saa of
dates. By Allaah! I have nothing besides this." In an effort to excuse his small
contribution and feeling embarrassed about it, he concluded by saying, "I have
brought one Saa and left the other for my family." The Munaafiqeen commented,
"He needs the Saa more than anyone else." The Munaafiqeen continued in this
manner as the wealthy and poor amongst them waited to receive a share of the
donations.
When the time drew close for Rasulullaah @?i% to leave, the Munaafiqeen came
in large numbers to seek exemption. They complained about the intense heat and
also said that if they had to embark on the expedition, they would face many
tests. They even went to the extent of taking oaths to substantiate their lies. Not
knowing what their hearts concealed, Rasulullaah k%% exempted them. It was a
group from amongst them who built the Masjid of hypocrisy in expectation of the
arrival of the evildoer Abu Aamir as well as Kinaana bin Abd Yaleel and Alqama
bin Ulaatha Aamiri. Abu Aamir had aligned himself with (the Roman emperor)
Heraclius (with whom he plotted to attack the Muslims. The 'Masjid' was built as
a meeting place for him). It was with reference to them that Surah Baraa'ah was
revealed part by part.
Hadhrat Abdullaah bin Abbaas Wi&4 continues to narrate that it was also in
Surah Baraa'ah that a verse was revealed which does not exempt anyone from
marching in Jihaad. The sincere Muslims who were loyal to Allaah and His
Rasool @?@ were weak, unwell or poor and complained to Rasulullaah #& when
the following verse of the Qur'aan was revealed:
Proceed (in the path of AJJaah) when light or heavy (happily or
reluctant& rich or poor, in good conditions and adverse conditions). . .
{Surah Baraa'ah, verse 4 1 )
They said, "There is now no exemption from this (we cannot miss the
expedition)." At that stage, many of the sins of the Munaafiqeen were still
concealed and only became apparent afterwards. Many of them stayed behind
the expedition without any physical ailment because they had no conviction (in
Allaah). The Surah (Baraa'ah) was revealed to Rasulullaah with great
clarification and detail, informing him about the pecple who had joined him.