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ABBAD
IBN BISHR Radhia
Allahu Anaha
It
was the fourth year after the Hijrah. The city of the
Prophet was still under threat from within and without.
From within. the influential Jewish tribe. the Banu
anNadir. broke their agreement with the Prophet and made
plans to kill him. For this, they were banished from the
city. This was in the month of Safar.
Two
months of uneasy quiet passed. Then the Prophet received
news that tribes from distant Najd were planning an
attack. To pre-empt them. the Prophet gathered a force of
over four hundred men. and leaving one of his companions
Uthman ibn Affan. in charge of the city, set out
eastwards. Among this force was the young Madinan, Abbad
ibn Bishr.
Arriving
at Najd, the Prophet found the habitations of the hostile
tribes strangely deserted of men. Only women were about.
The men had taken to the hills. Some of them regrouped and
prepared to fight. The time of Salat al-Asr (the afternoon
prayer) came. The Prophet feared that the hostile
tribesmen would attack them during prayer. He arranged the
Muslims in ranks and divided them into two groups and
performed the prayer as the Salat al-Khawf (the Prayer of
Fear). With one group he performed one rakah wh ile the
other group stood on guard. For the second rakah the
groups changed places. Each group completed its prayer
with one rakah after the Prophet had finished...
On
beholding the disciplined ranks of the Muslims the hostile
tribesmen became uneasy and afraid. The Prophet had made
his presence felt and something of his mission was now
known at first hand in the central highlands of Arabia
whence he departed peacefu lly.
On
the way back, the Prophet pitched camp in a valley for a
night. As soon as the Muslims had settled their camel
mounts, the Prophet peace be on him, asked: "Who will
be our guard tonight?" "We, O Messenger of
God," said Abbad ibn Bishr and Ammar ibn Yas ir both
of whom had been paired off as 'brothers' by the Prophet
when he arrived in Madinah after the Hijrah.
Abbad
and Ammar left for the mouth of the valley to take up
duty. Abbad saw that his "brother" was tired and
asked him: "What part of the night do you wish to
sleep, the first or the second?" "I shall sleep
during the first part," said Ammar who was soon fast
asleep quite close to Abbad.
The
night was clear, calm and peaceful. The stars, the trees,
and the rocks all appeared to celebrate in silence the
praises of their Lord. Abbad felt serene. There was no
movement, no threatening sign. Why not spend the time in
ibadah (worship) and recit ing the Quran? How delightful
it would be to combine the performance of Salat with the
measured recitation of the Quran which he so much enjoyed.
In
fact Abbad was enthralled by the Quran from the moment he
first heard it being recited by the mellow and beautiful
voice of Musab ibn Umayr. That was before the Hijrah when
Abbad was just about fifteen years old. The Quran had
found a special place in his heart and day and night
thereafter he would be heard repeating the glorious words
of God so much so that he became known among the Prophet's
companions as the "friend of the Quran".
Late
at night, the Prophet once stood up to perform the
Tahajjud Prayer in Aishah's house which adjoined the
masjid. He heard a voice reciting the Quran, pure and
sweet and as fresh as when the angel Jibril revealed the
words to him. He asked: "Aishah, is that the voice of
Abbad ibn Bishr?" "Yes, O Messenger of
God," replied Aishah. "O Lord, forgive
him," prayed the Prophet out of love for him.
And
so in the stillness of the night, at the mouth of the
valley in Najd, Abbad stood up and faced the Qiblah.
Raising his hand in surrender to God, he entered into the
state of Prayer. Finishing the compulsory opening chapter
of the Quran, he began recit ing Surah al-Kahf in his
sweet, captivating voice. Surah al-Kahf is a long Surah of
one hundred and ten verses which deals in part with the
virtues of faith, truth and patience and with the
relativity of time.
While
he was thus absorbed in reciting and reflecting upon the
divine words, eternal words of illumination and wisdom, a
stranger stalked the outskirts of the valley in search of
Muhammad and his followers. He was one of those who had
planned to attack th e Prophet but who had fled into the
mountains on the approach of the MusIims. His wife whom he
had left in the village had been taken as a hostage by one
of the Muslims. When he eventually found that his wife was
gone, he swore by al-Lat and al-Uzzah that he would pursue
Muhammad and his companions and that he would not return
unless he had drawn blood.
From
a distance, the man saw the figure of Abbad silhouetted at
the mouth of the valley and he knew that the Prophet and
his followers must be inside the valley. Silently he drew
his bow and let fly an arrow. Unerringly it embedded
itself in Abbad's flesh .
Calmly,
Abbad pulled out the arrow from his body and went on with
his recitation, still absorbed in his Salat. The attacker
shot a second and a third arrow both of which also found
their mark. Abbad pulled out one and then the other. He
finished his recit ation, made ruku and then sujud. Weak
and in pain, he stretched out his right hand while still
in prostration and shook his sleeping companion. Ammar
awoke. Silently, Abbad continued the Salat to its end and
then said: "Get up and stand guard in my place. I
have been wounded."
Ammar
jumped up and began to yell. Seeing them both the attacker
fled into the darkness. Ammar turned to Abbad as he lay on
the ground, blood flowing from his wounds.
"Ya
Subhanallah (Glory be to God)! Why didn't you wake me when
you were hit by the first arrow?" "I was in the
midst of reciting verses of the Quran which filled my soul
with awe and I did not want to cut short the recitation.
The Prophet had commanded me to commit this surah to
memory. Death would have been dearer to me than that the
recitation of this surah should be interrupted."
Abbad's
devotion to the Quran was a sign of his intense devotion
to and love for God, His Prophet and His religion. The
qualities he was known for were his constant immersion in
ibadah, his heroic courage and his generosity in the path
of God. At times of sacrifice and death, he would always
be in the front line. When it was time for receiving his
share of rewards, he would only be found after much effort
and difficulty. He was always trustworthy in his dealings
with the wealth of Muslims. Ali this was re cognized.
Aishah, the wife of the Prophet, once said: "There
are three persons among the Ansar whom no one could excel
in virtue: Sad ibn Muadh, Usayd ibn Khudayr and Abbad ibn
Bishr."
Abbad
died the death of a shahid (martyr) at the battle of
Yamamah. Just before the battle he had a strong
presentiment of death and martyrdom. He noticed that there
was a lack of mutual confidence among the Muhajirin and
Ansar. He was grieved and upset. He realized that there
would be no success for the Muslims in these terrible
battles unless the Muhajirin and Ansar were grouped in
separate regiments so that it could be clearly seen who
really bore their responsibility and who were truly
steadfast in co mbat.
At
the break of day when the battle commenced, Abbad ibn
Bishr stood on a mound and shouted:
"O
Ansar, distinguish yourselves among men. Destroy your
scabbards. And do not forsake Islam."
Abbad
harangued the Ansar until about four hundred men gathered
around him at the head of whom were Thabit ibn Qays,
al-Baraa ibn Malik and Abu Dujanah, the keeper of the
Prophet's sword. With this force, Abbad unleashed an
offensive into the enemy's rank s which blunted their
thrust and drove them back to the "garden of
death".
At
the walls of this garden, Abbad ibn Bishr fell. So
numerous were his wounds, he was hardly recognizable. He
had lived, fought and died as a believer.
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