Compiler: Mawlawi Abdul Samad Shaker
The Radiant Figures of the Best of Generation (part one)
The Radiant Figures of the Best of Generation; Mu‘adh ibn Jabal
Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman Mu‘adh ibn Jabal was a treasure of knowledge and the imam of jurists—a great scholar of the Ummah with profound awareness of what is lawful and unlawful—and one of the finest young men of the Ansar.
His name is frequently mentioned, yet why do so few people truly know the real stature of this great imam?
Mu‘adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) was a blessed fruit of the call to Allah. He embraced Islam at the hands of Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umayr—the same Mus‘ab whom the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) had sent to invite the people of Yathrib to divine monotheism and the religion of Islam.
This young man of the Ansar accepted the blessed religion of Islam at the age of eighteen. From that very moment, he began writing his life story through action—a biography whose sweet fragrance has spread across the world to this day, and of which we still sense a part; a biography written not with a pen, but with deeds.
In the third year after the Hijrah, during the season of Hajj, more than seventy Muslims went to Makkah al-Mukarramah to perform the pilgrimage, and Mu‘adh ibn Jabal was among them.
They said to one another: “How long will we leave the Prophet (peace be upon him) in this state, while we perform tawaf in Makkah al-Mukarramah, move about in the mountains, and live in fear?”
When they reached Makkah al-Mukarramah, they met the Prophet (peace be upon him) and concluded the Pledge of ‘Aqabah (the Second ‘Aqabah). Mu‘adh ibn Jabal placed his hand in the hand of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), pledged allegiance, and thus inscribed a golden page upon the brow of history.
Mu‘adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) had not yet returned to Madinah al-Munawwarah when he realized that this goodness that had come to him was solely by virtue of calling to Allah Almighty. Without hesitation, he raised the banner of Islam and called all those around him toward the gardens of Paradise.
Mu‘adh ibn Jabal and another young man of the Ansar alongside him also accomplished another great deed: they brought one of the elders of their people, ‘Amr ibn al-Jamuh (MABH), to Islam.
When Mu‘adh ibn Jabal and his companions arrived in Madinah al-Munawwarah, they openly proclaimed Islam among their people. Among the elders of their tribe were those in whom remnants of shirk still remained, including ‘Amr ibn al-Jamuh, who kept in his house a large and very ancient idol named Manat. His son, Mu‘adh ibn ‘Amr, however, had been present with Mu‘adh ibn Jabal at the Pledge of ‘Aqabah and had pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH).
‘Amr ibn al-Jamuh was one of the elders of the Banu Salimah tribe and counted among the nobles of his people. He kept an ancient idol in his home called Manat. Keeping idols was customary among the nobles, for they worshipped them and accorded them great reverence and veneration.
When these two young men of Banu Salimah—Mu‘adh ibn Jabal and Mu‘adh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-Jamuh—embraced Islam and bore witness to the Pledge of ‘Aqabah, they took advantage of the darkness of night, stole the great idol of ‘Amr ibn al-Jamuh (Manat) from his house, and threw it into a pit where people discarded their garbage and filth. The idol fell into the pit with its head down and its feet pointing upward.
When morning came, ‘Amr ibn al-Jamuh exclaimed, “Perish you! Who has done this to our deity?” He searched until he found his idol lying in the pit with its feet upward. He immediately took it out, cleaned it, washed it with water, perfumed it, and swore that if he found the one who had done this, he would severely punish him.
The day passed, and at night, when ‘Amr fell asleep, the two young men returned to the idol and repeated what they had done the day before.
In the morning, ‘Amr once again encountered the same scene. This continued for several days until ‘Amr ibn al-Jamuh grew weary. He took the idol out of the pit, cleaned it, perfumed it, hung his sword around its neck, and said, “I do not know who is doing this to you, but if there is any good in you, defend yourself; let this sword be with you.”
That night, when ‘Amr fell asleep, they returned once more to the idol. First they removed the sword, then tied the idol with a rope to a dead dog and threw both of them together into a pit belonging to the tribe of Banu Salimah.
In the morning, when ‘Amr ibn al-Jamuh (MABH) came, he did not find the idol in its place. He quickly searched for it until he finally found it in a pit, tied to a dead dog. When he saw this scene, he thought to himself: something that cannot protect itself—what benefit can it have for us? Without delay, he spoke with the newly converted Muslims of his people and embraced Islam.
This was the result of the efforts of Mu‘adh ibn Jabal and his young companion, through whom one of the great Companions was brought to Islam.
This incident teaches us that the religion can advance at the hands of the young and the inexperienced just as it advances through the efforts of the youth and the elders.
Mu‘adh ibn Jabal (MABH) wrote the first line of his blessed life by calling to Allah Almighty, and we too strive to organize our lives in the likeness of his.
In this series, we will recount his life to you in this manner until the end, God willing.
Continues…
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