Muadh b. Jabal

Sirah Transcript by Yasir Qadhi > Lessons From the Incident of the Bay ah

(i) Asma bint Amr (أسماء بنت عمرو) - Sadly just like the majority of the sahaba, we don't have any detail about her. All that we know is that she was the cousin of Muadh b. Jabal (معاذ بن جبل) RA.

Sirah Transcript by Yasir Qadhi > Banu Nadir Banu Qurayza and Banu Qaynuqa

iii-a) There was a third major diaspora in 132 CE, when a group of Jews revolted against the ruler of the time, Emperor Hadrian, the emperor brutally slaughtered hundreds and thousands of them, so they fled once again. It is said that this wave of emigrants, some of them running and fleeing wandered down into Arabia; they come across this fertile ground with date palms with no inhabitants at the time, so they settled down there i.e. in Yathrib area. So according to this narrative, the Jews are the ones who found Yathrib. One group settled in Yathrib, another in Khaybar (relatively close to each other). It's also said large group of them continued down until they reach Yemen. (And the Yemeni Jews were the largest quantity of Jews in the Arabian Peninsula. In fact, when the Prophet ﷺ sent Muadh b. Jabal to Yemen [much later on, in 9 AH], he told him, "You are going to go to a land of the Ahl al-Kitab [the People of the Book (Jews and Christians)." Yemen was the only land in Arabia that had a lot of Christians. Because there was a Christian Himyarite Kingdom - when Abraha conquered parts of Yemen, he installed the governor there, so a lot of people converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity.)

Sirah Transcript by Yasir Qadhi > Points of Benefit From the Muakha

1. The muakha began in this era but continued right until the end, even after the Conquest of Makkah. How do we know? By the names of the people mentioned who were paired together. E.g. Salman al-Farisi and Abu Darda. Ja'far b. Abi Talib came to Madinah in the 7th year of the Hijrah, but still the Prophet ﷺ did muakha between him and Muadh b. Jabal. It's also mentioned that the Prophet ﷺ did muakha for Muawiyah b. Abi Sufyan, and he accepted Islam after the Conquest of Makkah. So this shows us that the concept of pairing people together was not something that was unique only to the beginning of Islam. It lasted throughout the entire course of the Madani phase. Therefore from this we extract that this is a neglected sunnah; up until our time we should be doing this, especially when people convert to Islam. We need to resurrect this sunnah.

Sirah Transcript by Yasir Qadhi > Tangent Forgiveness vs Harshness

Also we notice the Prophet ﷺ treated people according to who they are. The Bedouin is not treated like the senior sahaba are treated. The Bedouin is shown mercy, whereas the senior sahaba have a higher standard to follow. Once, Muadh b. Jabal recites a long surah when he was leading a prayer, and when one of the ma'mum complained to the Prophet ﷺ about this, the Prophet ﷺ reprimanded Mu'adh, "O Mu'adh, are you going to cause fitna to the people?" Also, in one sariyya, when Usama b. Zayd killed a person who had said "La ilaha illaLlah," the Prophet ﷺ was furious at him and kept on repeating, "[O Usama,] what are you going to do with 'La ilaha illaLlah' on the Day of Judgment?!" until Usama felt, "Wallahi, I wish I was a brand new Muslim out of the anger of the Prophet ﷺ for me"—meaning he knows the Prophet ﷺ would've been more lenient with him had he been a new Muslim. Therefore, we understand why the Prophet ﷺ said what he said to Abu Sufyan b. al-Harith and Abdullah b. Abi Umayyah. These are cousins. They knew better. How could they have done what they have done to their own cousin, someone who they grew up with? How could they have betrayed him when he was the most in need of them?

Sirah Transcript by Yasir Qadhi > 1 Ghazwat Tabuk

As for the most prominent name, it is Ghazwat Tabuk (غزوة تبوك). Why Tabuk? Because the Muslim army was quite literally saved at Tabuk. Muadh b. Jabal reports, "We went on the expedition with the Prophet ﷺ in the year of Ghazwat Tabuk and we combined our prayers until we came close, then the Prophet ﷺ said, 'Tomorrow you shall arrive at the spring of Tabuk and you shall arrive there at the hot time of the day; [but] make sure you do not touch its water until I get there.'" The sahaba had run out of water, they were extremely thirsty and they thought they were about to die; and when they arrived at Tabuk the next day, Mu'adh said they saw a small slither of water, "We saw a small slither of water, and we saw two men from our camp already there having preceded us. The Prophet ﷺ asked them, 'Have you touched its water?' They said, 'Yes.' So the Prophet ﷺ became angry at them and he said what Allah wanted him to say."—Mu'adh did not quote what the Prophet ﷺ said. Why? Because of adab. You just cover it up because the Prophet ﷺ said some harsh phrases. We should know the Prophet ﷺ rebuked them, but we don't need to know the words used. Then the Prophet ﷺ commanded the sahaba to gather any and all water in one place, and Mu'adh narrates: "Then the Prophet ﷺ washed his hands and face in that water, and then the water started to gush out until all the army (of 20,000) drank from it." So because of this incident that the army was quite literally saved at Tabuk, the expedition became called the Expedition of Tabuk.

Sirah Transcript by Yasir Qadhi > The Story of Kaab b Malik RA

"I also set out in the morning so that I should make preparations along with them, but I would come back and did not do anything and said to myself: 'I can do that when I want to.' And I went on doing this (postponing my preparations) until people were about to depart and it was in the morning that the Prophet ﷺ set out and the Muslims too along with him, but I made no preparations. I went early in the morning and came back, but I made no decision. I continued to do so until they (the Muslims) hastened and covered a good deal of distance. And I thought of riding and catching up with them. I wish I had done that, but perhaps it was not destined for me. After the departure of the Prophet ﷺ, as I went out amongst people, I was shocked to find that I did not find anyone like me except people who were labeled as hypocrites or the people whom Allah granted exemption because of their incapacity. And the Prophet ﷺ took no notice of me until he had reached Tabuk. (And one day, as he ﷺ was sitting amongst the people in Tabuk,) he said: 'What has happened to Kaab b. Malik?' A man from Banu Salama said: 'Ya Rasulullah, the (beauty) of his cloak and his appreciation of his properties have allured him and he was thus detained.' Muadh b. Jabal said: 'What a bad thing you have said! Ya Rasulullah, by Allah, we know nothing but good about him (Kaab).' The Prophet ﷺ, however, kept quiet. It was during that time that he (ﷺ) saw a person (in the distance), dressed in white, breaking the mirage. Thereupon the Prophet ﷺ said: 'May he be Abu Khaythama,' and, lo, it was Abu Khaythama al-Ansari (أبو خيثمة الأنصاري) and he was that person who gave a sa' (صاع - basically 1 kg or so) of dates (in charity) and was scoffed at by the hypocrites." Kaab b. Malik (further) said: "When the news reached me that the Prophet ﷺ was on his way back from Tabuk, I was greatly perturbed. I thought of fabricating false stories and asked myself how I would save myself from his anger on the following day. In this regard, I sought the help/advice of every prudent man from amongst my people, but when it was said to me that the Prophet ﷺ was about to arrive, all the false ideas disappeared (from my mind) and I came to the conclusion that nothing could save me but the telling of truth, so I decided to speak the truth and it was in the morning that the Prophet ﷺ arrived (in Madinah). And it was his habit that as he came back from a journey, he first went to the mosque and observed two rak'at of nafl prayer (as a mark of gratitude) and then sat amongst people. And as he did that, those who had remained behind him began to put forward their excuses and take an oath before him and they were more than eighty people. The Prophet ﷺ accepted their excuses on the face of them and accepted their allegiance and sought forgiveness for them and left their secrets (intentions) to Allah. Then I presented myself to him. I greeted him and he smiled and there was a tinge of anger in that. He (ﷺ) said to me: 'Come forward.' I went forward until I sat in front of him. He said to me: 'What kept you behind? Had you not purchased a mount?' I said: 'Ya Rasulullah, by Allah, if I were sitting in front of any other person from this whole world, I would have been able to wiggle my way out in front of him and save myself from his anger on one pretext. And I have been bestowed the power of speaking fluently and eloquently, but, by Allah, I am fully aware of the fact that if I were to put forward before you a false excuse to please you today, Allah would definitely (expose me and) provoke your wrath upon me (in the near future); and if I speak the truth (today), though you will get angry because of it, I hope that Allah would make its end well, and, by Allah, there is no valid excuse for me. By Allah, I had never been stronger or wealthier than I was when I remained behind you (failed to join the expedition).' Thereupon, the Prophet ﷺ said: 'As for this man, he has spoken the truth. Get up (and leave) until Allah gives a decision in your case.' So I left, and some people of Banu Salama followed me, and they said to me: 'By Allah, we never saw you committing a sin prior to this. You, however, failed to offer an excuse to the Prophet ﷺ as the others who did not join him have offered. The du'a of the Prophet ﷺ to Allah to forgive you would have been sufficient for you.' By Allah, they continued to incite me until I thought of going back to the Prophet ﷺ and contradict myself. Then I said to them: 'Has anyone else also met the same fate (as me)?' They said: 'Yes, two people have met the same fate as has fallen to you and they have made the same statement as you have made, and the same verdict has been delivered in their case as it has been delivered in your case.' I said: 'Who are they?' They said: 'Murara b. al-Rabi' al-Amri (مرارة بن الربيع العمري) and Hilal b. Umayyah al-Waqifi (هلال بن أمية الواقفي).' They made a mention of these two pious people to me who had participated in the Battle of Badr and there was an example for me in them. So I did not change my mind when they mentioned these two people to me. The Prophet ﷺ forbade all the Muslims to talk with three of us from amongst those who had stayed behind him. So we kept away from the people, and the people's attitude towards us changed so much that it appeared to me that I am a foreigner in my own land. We spent fifty nights in this state and my two friends confined themselves within their houses and spent (most of the) time in weeping, but as I was young and strong amongst them, I got out (of my house), participated in congregational prayers, roam about in the marketplaces; but none spoke to me. I came to the Prophet ﷺ as he sat (amongst people) after the prayer, greeted him, and asked myself whether his lips stirred in response to my greetings (or not). Then I observed prayer close to him and looked at him with stealing glances; and when I focused on my prayer, he would look at me, but when I cast a glance at him, he would turn his face away from me. And when the harsh treatment of the Muslims towards me lasted long, I walked until I climbed the wall of the garden of Abu Qatada, and he was my cousin, and I had the greatest love for him. I greeted him but, by Allah, he did not respond to my greetings. I said to him: 'O Abu Qatada, I adjure you by Allah! Aren't you well aware of the fact that I love Allah and His Messenger ﷺ?' But he kept quiet. So I adjured him again. But he kept quiet. I again adjured him, whereupon he said: 'Allah and His Messenger know it better.' My eyes began to shed tears and I turned away and climbed back over the wall. And as I was walking in the marketplace of Madinah, I saw a Nabataean from amongst the Nabataeans of al-Sham, who had come to sell foodgrains in Madinah, saying, 'Who will show me where Kaab b. Malik is?' The people started to point me out to him, and he came to me and gave me a letter from the King of Ghassan, and as I was a scribe (i.e., I was literate), I read that letter and it was written like this: 'Amma ba'd (أما بعد - to proceed); it has been conveyed to us that your friend (the Prophet ﷺ) has treated you harshly, and Allah would not allow you to live at a place where you are inferior and your rights are lost, so join us and we will console you.' As I read that letter, I said (to myself): 'This is also a sort of a test,' so I burned it in the oven. When out of the fifty days, forty days had passed and the Prophet ﷺ received no revelation, there came the messenger of the Prophet ﷺ to me and said: 'Verily, the Prophet ﷺ has commanded you to remain separate from your wife.' I said: 'Should I divorce her or what should I do?' He said: 'No, but only remain separate from her and do not come near her.' And the same message was sent to my companions. I said to my wife: 'You better go to your parents and stay there with them until Allah gives the decision in my case.' The wife of Hilal b. Umayyah came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: 'Ya Rasulullah, Hilal b. Umayyah is an old man with no servant. Do you disapprove of my serving him?' He said: 'No, but he should not come near you.' She said: 'By Allah, he has no such desire. By Allah, he spends his time in weeping from that day (his case began) until today.' Some of the members of my family said to me: 'Will you also seek permission from the Prophet ﷺ in regards to your wife? For he has granted permission to the wife of Hilal b. Umayyah to serve him.' I said: 'I will not ask the permission of the Prophet ﷺ regarding her, for I do not know what the Prophet ﷺ would say if I asked him to permit her (to serve me) while I am a young man.' It was in this state I spent ten more nights, and thus fifty nights was completed starting from the time when the people were prohibited from talking to us. Then I prayed Fajr on the morning of the fiftieth night on the roof of one of our houses, and while I was sitting in the manner that Allah AWJ described us (in Quran, 9:118) —i.e., my very soul seemed straitened to me and even the earth seemed narrow to me despite its vastness— there I heard the voice of one who had ascended Sal'/Sala' (سَلْع - Mount Sela) saying at the top of his voice: 'O Kaab b. Malik, there is glad tidings for you!' I fell into prostration realizing that relief has come. The Prophet ﷺ had informed the people of the acceptance of our repentance by Allah as he offered the Fajr prayer. So the people went on to give us glad tidings and some of them went to my friends in order to give them the glad tidings; one man came to me galloping on his horse, and another man from the tribe of Aslam (أسلم) came rushing to me and he stood up on top of the mountain and shouted. The man's voice was swifter than the horse. When the one whose voice I heard giving me the glad tidings came to me, I took off my garments and dressed him with them because of his bringing good news to me, and, by Allah, I owned no other garments than them on that day. Then I borrowed two garments, and dressed myself in them, and I set out to go to the Prophet ﷺ, and on my way, the people started receiving me in batches, congratulating me on Allah's acceptance of my repentance, saying, 'We congratulate you on Allah's acceptance of your repentance!' (I moved on) until I came to the mosque and the Prophet ﷺ had been sitting there amongst people. Talha b. Ubaydillah got up and rushed towards me and he shook hands with me and congratulated me, and, by Allah, no person stood up (to congratulate me) from amongst the Muhajirun except him." (The sub-narrator said) Kaab said that he never forgot (this good gesture of) Talha. Kaab (further) said: "When I greeted the Prophet ﷺ, his face became bright with joy, and he said: 'Be happy and rejoice, for this is the best day you have ever had since the day your mother gave birth to you!' I said: 'Ya Rasulullah, is this acceptance of repentance from you or from Allah?' He said: 'No, (it is not from me), it is from Allah,' and it was common with the Prophet ﷺ that as he was happy, his face brightened up and it looked like a part of the moon and it was from this that we recognized it (his delight). As I sat before him, I said: 'Ya Rasulullah, as part of my repentance, I will give up (all) my wealth as sadaqa for the sake of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.' Thereupon, the Prophet ﷺ said: 'Keep some property with you as it is better for you.' I said: 'I shall keep with me that part (of my property) which fell to my lot on (the occasion of the Expedition of) Khaybar.' I said: 'Ya Rasulullah, Allah saved me because I spoke the truth; so as part of my repentance, I shall speak nothing but the truth so long as I live.'" Kaab said (to the sub-narrator): "By Allah, I do not know of anyone amongst the Muslims whom Allah tested with truthfulness in speech —from the time I said that (promise) to the Prophet ﷺ until today— more than me; (but) by Allah, I have not intentionally told a lie from the time I said that to the Prophet ﷺ until today, and I hope that Allah will save me for the rest of my life. And Allah AWJ revealed these verses: 'Allah has certainly turned in mercy to the Prophet as well as the Muhajirun and the Ansar who stood by him in the time of difficulty (i.e., the Expedition of Tabuk), after the hearts of a group of them had almost faltered. He then accepted their repentance. Surely He is Ever Gracious and Most Merciful to them. And [Allah has also turned in mercy to] the three who were left behind, [whose guilt distressed them] until the earth, despite its vastness, seemed to close in on them, and their souls were torn in anguish.' And this revelation reached up to the (words): 'O  believers! Be mindful of Allah and be with the truthful' [9:117-119]." Kaab said: "By Allah, since Allah directed me to Islam, there has been no blessing more significant for me than this truth of mine which I spoke to the Prophet ﷺ, and if I were to tell a lie, I would have been ruined as were ruined those who told lies; for in regards to those who told lies, Allah used harshest words used for anyone as He descended revelation (and the words of Allah are): 'When you return, they will swear to you by Allah so that you may leave them alone. So leave them alone—they are truly evil. Hell will be their home as a reward for what they have committed. They will swear to you in order to please you. And even if you are pleased with them, Allah will never be pleased with the fasiqs' [9:95-96]." Kaab said: "The matter of us three was deferred as compared with those who took an oath in the presence of the Prophet ﷺ, and he accepted their allegiance and sought forgiveness for them. The Prophet ﷺ deferred our case until Allah decided concerning it. [And it was Allah AWJ who gave decisions in our case]. Hence, Allah said, 'And [Allah has also turned in mercy to] the three who were left behind'; and this (phrase, 'the three who were left behind') does not mean that we remained back from the expedition (even though we did remain back; but) rather, this implies that he (ﷺ) kept our matter behind those who swore an oath and apologized to him, from whom he accepted that."

Sirah Transcript by Yasir Qadhi > The Story of Kaab b Malik RA With Sh YQ s Commentary

Then he says, "The Prophet ﷺ did not remember me until they reached Tabuk." There is a difference of opinion, but it's said the Prophet ﷺ camped at Tabuk for 10 to 19 days. And in that time, he ﷺ remembered Kaab and said, "Where is Kaab?" And a man from the Banu Salama (Kaab's tribe) said, "Ya Rasulullah, his two garments, and his looking at his property, have kept him back"—meaning he is saying his fine clothes and cushions and sofas have kept him back, i.e., he is saying he preferred this dunya. At this, Muadh b. Jabal said, "Woe to you! Why are you saying this? Wallahi, I only know Kaab to be a good man." Note, we don't know the name of the man who criticized Kaab, but the one who praised him, we know — Muadh b. Jabal. Think about it. Do you not think Kaab knows who criticized him? Of course he does, it's someone from his own tribe. But when it comes to narrating the story, he simply says, "One of the people of the Banu Salama." Subhan'Allah, how many times in the Sirah have we seen this adab of the sahaba? To overlook bad things. Just simply not mentioning it. And if you have to mention, to keep it anonymous. The Prophet ﷺ said in a hadith, "Whoever defends the honor of his brother in his absence, Allah will defend his face from the Fire of Hell." (So isn't it sad that the culture we live in our time is the exact opposite? There are shows and magazines dedicated to gossip.)

Sirah Transcript by Yasir Qadhi > The Question of Muadh b Jabal RA

The Question of Muadh b. Jabal RA

One of the things that happened is narrated in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad. (Side note: The Musnad of Imam Ahmad is a very large book; the largest present compilation of hadith in our times. It is published in 50 volumes, and this is in volume 36, hadith number 22,122.) It is a beautiful narration — again the Incident of Tabuk has miscellaneous incidents like this spread throughout, and there is no battle like Badr or Uhud. Imam Ahmad narrates from Abu al-Nadr (أبو النضر) from Abd al-Hamid b. Bahram (عبد الحميد بن بهرام) from Shahr b. Hawshab (شهر بن حوشب) from Abd al-Rahman b. Ghanmin (عبد الرحمن بن غنم) that Muadh b. Jabal narrated: "When the Prophet ﷺ went out towards Tabuk, after he had prayed Fajr with the people on the way to Tabuk, the people went back on their camels. And when the sun began to rise up, the people began falling asleep on their mounts." And Mu'adh RA said he was following the Prophet ﷺ, and as the people fell asleep, their camels began splitting up here and there, and Mu'adh's camel almost tripped. "So," Mu'adh said, "I jerked it back with the reins and it went up, but that scared the camel of the Prophet ﷺ and it began to run forward. The Prophet ﷺ was wearing his turban around his face, so he took it off and looked behind to see who has done this. And he saw me."

Sirah Transcript by Yasir Qadhi > Tangent Blessings of the People of Yemen

Note Yemen was separated from Arabia in many ways. Firstly, it was a majority of Christian; and also many Jews were there. (Side notes: Some of the largest concentrations of Jews in the world were in Yemen up until 1947. Many Israelis are descendants of Yemeni Jews. So much so they still speak Arabic. And they consider themselves to be pure Jews — they don't think European Jews are as pure as them. The point is, Yemen typically had more Christian and Jews, and not as many pagans. And this was different from the rest of Arabia.) Also, Yemen was divided into small mini-kingdoms which was also very different. So there was more stability and civilization in Yemen. One of the main kings of Yemen from Himyar accepted Islam, and so the Prophet ﷺ sent Muadh b. Jabal to be the deputy and judge. This is the famous incident when the Prophet ﷺ accompanied Muadh b. Jabal to the south of Madinah — Mu'adh was on the animal and the Prophet ﷺ was the one walking (this is a great honor for Mu'adh). And he ﷺ gives him a lot of advice and tells him, "O Mu'adh, you will go to a group, they are People of the Book. Make sure you call them to tawhid (monotheism). If they listen, tell them to pray. If they pray, tell them to give zakat... [and so on]." And in the end he ﷺ said, "Ya Mu'adh, it is possible that I won't see you after this." And this was his ﷺ farewell to Muadh b. Jabal RA. (Note this incident of the sending of Mu'adh took place a few months after the Hajj of Abu Bakr in the 9th year of the Hijrah, so not now but a few months from now. After Abu Bakr returns, a month or two later.)

As the Prophet ﷺ sent Muadh b. Jabal, the last piece of advice he gave him was, "Make things easy and don't make things difficult. And give people glad tidings and don't turn people away. And cause people to come together and don't cause people to disunite." Wallahi, this is a beautiful piece of advice, that we shouldn't make Islam difficult. Look at the level of the people and then do what is reasonable for them. Make it easy, and don't make it difficult and turn them away. It's sad then to see that so many mashaikh and ulama and preachers make Islam so difficult — even if they speak the truth, it's without wisdom and without the appropriate context, or talking to people who are not ready for certain advice. Here is Muadh b. Jabal being sent —and he is who he is— yet the Prophet ﷺ told him to make it easy for the people and to be gentle with them.

Sirah Transcript by Yasir Qadhi > Sending Out Governors and Religious Teachers to Various Places

Also toward the end of the 9th year, our Prophet ﷺ sent many sahaba as either governors or teachers of Islam to various places around Arabia, especially in the north and south. Muadh b. Jabal was sent to Yemen — and we know the story of how the Prophet ﷺ walked with him [see episode 96. Others were also sent down south, and it seems people there accepted Islam very quickly and easily.

Sirah Transcript by Yasir Qadhi > Signs in the Quran and Sunnah That Foretold the Death of the Prophet ﷺ

Also, the Prophet ﷺ himself hinted this to some of his beloved sahaba: Of them is the famous hadith of Muadh b. Jabal. The Prophet ﷺ loved Mu'adh with a very strong love. And Mu'adh was of the most noble of the sahaba. When Mu'adh left for Yemen to be the governor, the Prophet ﷺ privately walked with him alone to the south of Madinah, and he actually walked while Mu'adh was on the donkey — Mu'adh insisted, but the Prophet ﷺ said, "No, I want to walk with you like this"—that was his love for Mu'adh. And he told him, "Wallahi, I love you, O Mu'adh. O Mu'adh, perhaps you shall not see me after this; and perhaps when you come back to Madinah, you will find my masjid and my qabr (قبر - grave)." So he is telling Mu'adh, "You might not see me again." And of course, at this, Mu'adh began to cry. [See also: episode 96.]