Was there not amongst you even a single merciful man?! (Written By Abu Esa Nimatullah)
On the authority of ibn ‘Abbās that the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) dispatched a military unit.
Upon gathering the booty they found a man who said, “I’m not from them! I fell in love with a woman and followed her here! Allow me to at least look at her then you can do with me as you wish.”
The woman, tall and ebony-skinned, came forward and he said to her, “Submit to me O Hubaysh, before life comes to an end.Have you not seen how I found you and followed you To Halyah, through tight mountainous ravines? Is it not the right of the lover to yearn After suffering the entire night in pursuit and heat of the noon?”*
She said, “Yes! May I be sacrificed for you!”
Then they took the man and killed him. The woman fell on his body, gasped once or twice, then died.
When the unit returned to the Messenger of Allah (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and informed him of what had happened, he said, “Was there not amongst you even a single merciful man?!”
This narration, collected by Imām al-Nasā’i as well as al-Tabarāni and al-Haythami has a fair chain (as opined by ibn Hajr in al-Fath), although there is a dispute about its strength amongst the Muhaddithīn.
The name of this lady was Hubayshah but he referred to her with a term of endearment by shortening her name to “Hubaysh”, something done similarly by the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) when he would affectionately call Ā‘ishah simply “Ā‘ish” as narrated by Imam al-Bukhāri in his Sahīh.
The man was infatuated with this woman, forgetting even death for a moment just to look at her one more time and even asked her to allow him this with his statement ‘submit yourself’ i.e. don’t begrudge me this last moment.
Other scholars mentioned that it might mean ‘accept Islam’ or even ‘give me peace’ but the first position seems to fit the context and Allah knows best.
The woman’s response ‘fadaytuka’ is a well known expression of love and sacrifice amongst the Arabs, being an extreme sign of love and commitment.
Indeed, the companions would often come and express their loyalty to the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) with the same term.The beauty of this narration is that it shows some of the excellence of the Arabs in their poetry, their concern for love and romance, and the overriding principle of ease and gentleness in Islam despite its strict disciplinary and penal code in times of necessity.So, from the many lessons, points of law and indeed benefits of this narration as mentioned by our teachers:
1. The intrinsic gentle nature of the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam)
2. Pardoning precedes Punishment
3. The power of love and its consequences, to the extent that it can make a man forget death
4. Love (and its consequent sadness) can kill as seen with the woman
5. A lesson to be learnt for those attempting to give fatwa for a death sentence – it is an unenviable responsibility despite its importance
6. The virtue of mercy to the creation, even if they differ with you
7. The concern of the leader for giving all people the possibility of hearing about Islam, and hence his emphasis on da’wah
8. The strength of Islam today has been based on retaining the best attributes of those who were not Muslim, particularly culture – this is seen more clearly in the other narrations as well.
9. That the leaders should always be fully appraised by those under his command so that he can either confirm their actions or correct them.
10. Both men and women of that time were equal in their knowledge of Arabic language and culture
11. It is permissible to look at a non-Mahram woman if there is a need; how else were the Sahābah able to describe her skin so accurately?
12. The intrinsic disadvantages of keeping continual company of such disbelievers. The man wasn’t even from this group yet he was taken because he was with them.
13. The harshness of the Sahābah, radhy-Allahu ‘anhum, on kufr and the aggressive disbelievers
14. There is no need for expiation/blood money if the Mujāhidīn make an honest mistake after their best efforts of ijtihād. There is discussion on this point.
15. The permissibility of killing a rebellious captive
16. Punishment is not immediate; a delay for requests or other reasons is allowed
17. Female captives are usually retained, to be freed or married as per the orders of the leader
18. The execution of aggressive prisoners was by the sword and by the striking of the neck
19. The Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) would often reprimand his Companions, and as here, with severity
20. The Sahābah are not ma‘sūm (protected from making mistakes and sinning)
And Allah ‘azza wa jall knows best.
http://www.ahlalhdeeth.com/vbe/archive/index.php/t-5127.html
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