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Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktum
Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum was a cousin of Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, Mother
of the Believers, may God be pleased with her. His father was Qays ibn
Za'id and his mother was Aatikah bint Abdullah. She was called Umm
Maktum (Mother of the Concealed One) because she gave birth to a blind
child.
Abdullah witnessed the rise of Islam in Makkah. He was amongst the
first to accept Islam. He lived through the persecution of the Muslims
and suffered what the other companions of the Prophet experienced. His
attitude, like theirs, was one of firmness, staunch resistance and
sacrifice. Neither his dedication nor his faith weakened against the
violence of the Quraysh onslaught. In fact, all this only increased his
determination to hold on to the religion of God and his devotion to His
messenger.
Abdullah was devoted to the noble Prophet and he was so eager to
memorize the Qur'an that he would not miss any opportunity to achieve
his heart's desire. Indeed, his sense of urgency and his insistence
could sometimes have been irritating as he, unintentionally, sought to
monopolize the attention of the Prophet.
In this period, the Prophet, peace be upon him, was concentrating on
the Quraysh notables and was eager that they should become Muslims. On
one particular day, he met Utbah ibn Rabiah and his brother Shaybah,
Amr ibn Hisham better known as Abu Jahl, Umayyah ibn Khalaf and Walid
ibn Mughirah, the father of Khalid ibn Walid who was later to be known
as Sayf Allah or 'the sword of God'. He had begun talking and
negotiating with them and telling them about Islam. He so much wished
that they would respond positively to him and accept Islam or at least
call off their persecution of his companions.
While he was thus engaged, Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum came up and asked
him to read a verse from the Qur'an.
"O messenger of God," he said, "teach me from what God has taught you."
The Prophet frowned and turned away from him. He turned his attention
instead to the prestigious group of Quraysh, hoping that they would
become Muslims and that by their acceptance of Islam they would bring
greatness to the religion of God and strengthen his mission. As soon as
he had finished speaking to them and had left their company, he
suddenly felt partially blinded and his head began to throb violently.
At this point the following revelation came to him:
"He frowned and turned away when the blind man approached him! Yet for
all you knew, (O Muhammad), he might perhaps have grown in purity or
have been reminded of the Truth, and helped by this reminder. Now as
for him who believes himself to be self-sufficientÑto him you gave your
whole attention, although you are not accountable for his failure to
attain to purity. But as for him who came unto you full of eagerness
and in awe of God, him did you disregard.
Nay, verily, this is but a reminder and so, whoever is willing may
remember Him in the light of His revelations blest with dignity, lofty
and pure, borne by the hands of messengers, noble and most virtuous."
(Surah Abasa 80: 116).
These are the sixteen verses which were revealed to the noble Prophet
about Abdullah ibn Umm MaktumÑsixteen verses that have continued to be
recited from that time till today and shall continue to be recited.
From that day the Prophet did not cease to be generous to Abdullah ibn
Umm Maktum, to ask him about his affairs, to fulfil his needs and take
him into his council whenever he approached. This is not strange. Was
he not censured by God in a most severe manner on Abdullah's account?
In fact, in later years, he often greeted Ibn Umm Maktum with these
words of humility:
"Welcome unto him on whose account my Sustainer has rebuked me."
When the Quraysh intensified their persecution of the Prophet and those
who believed with him, God gave them permission to emigrate. Abdullah's
response was prompt. He ana Mus'ab ibn Umayr were the first of the
Companions to reach Madinah.
As soon as they reached Yathrib, he and Mus'ab began discussing with
the people, reading the Qur'an to them and teaching them the religion
of God. When the Prophet, upon whom be peace; arrived in Madinah, he
appointed Abdullah and Bilal ibn Rabah to be muadh-dhins for the
Muslims, proclaiming the Oneness of God five times a day, calling man
to the best of actions and summoning them to success.
Bilal would call the adhan and Abdullah would pronounce the iqamah for
the Prayer. Sometimes they would reverse the process. During Ramadan,
they adopted a special routine. One of them would call the adhan to
wake people up to eat before the fast began.
The other would call the adhan to announce the beginning of dawn and
the fast. It was Bilal who would awaken the people and Abdullah ibn Umm
Maktum who would announce the beginning of dawn.
One of the responsibilities that the Prophet placed on Abdullah ibn Umm
Maktum was to put him in charge of Madinah in his absence. This was
done more than ten times, one of them being when he left for the
liberation of Makkah.
Sasn after the battle of Badr, the Prophet received a revelation from
God raising the status of the mujahideen and preferring them over the
qa'ideen (those who remain inactive at home). This was in order to
encourage the mujahid even further and to spur the qa'id to give up his
inactivity. This revelation affected ibn Umm Maktum deeply. It pained
him to be thus barred from the higher status and he said:
"O messenger of God. If I could go on jihad, I would certainly do." He
then earnestly asked God to send down a revelation about his particular
case and those like him who were prevented because of their
disabilities from going on military campaigns.
His prayer was answered. An additional phrase was revealed to the
Prophet exempting those with disabilities from the import of the
original verse. The full ayah became:
"Not equal are those who remain seated among the believers except those
who possess disabilitiesÑand those who strive and fight in the way of
God with their wealth and their persons . . ."
(Surah an-Nisaa, 4: 95).
In spite of thus being excused from jihad, the soul of Abdullah ibn Umm
Maktum refused to be content with staying among those who remained at
home when an expedition was in progress. Great souls are not content
with remaining detached from affairs of great moment. He determined
that no campaign should by-pass him. He fixed a role for himself on the
battle field. He would say: "Place me between two rows and give me the
standard. I will carry it for you and protect it, for I am blind and
cannot run away."
In the fourteenth year after the hijrah, Umar resolved to mount a major
assault against the Persians to bring down their State and open the way
for the Muslim forces. So he wrote to his governors:
"Send anyone with a weapon or a horse or who can offer any form of help
to me. And make haste."
Crowds of Muslims from every direction responded to Umar's call and
converged on Madinah. Among all these was the blind mujahid, Abdullah
ibn Umm Maktum.
Umar appointed Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas commander over the army, gave him
instructions and bade him farewell. When the army reached Qadisiyyah,
Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum was prominent, wearing a coat of armour and
fully prepared. He had vowed to carry and protect the standard of the
Muslims or be killed in the process.
The forces met and engaged in battle for three days. The fighting was
among the most fierce and bitter in the history of the Muslim
conquests. On the third day, the Muslims achieved a mighty victory as
one of the greatest empires in the world collapsed and one of the most
secure thrones fell. The standard of Tawhid was raised in an idolatrous
land. The price of this clear victory was hundreds of martyrs. Among
them was Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum. He was found dead on the battlefield
clutching the flag of the Muslims.
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Source: Companions of
the Prophet-Abdul Wahid Hamid
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