Bilal's Bedtime Stories (part Two)

The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) Enters Madina

The camel has, since olden times, proved to be a very useful animal for desert journeys. It has shown to be dependable and sturdy animal for desert transport. The reason is that it has been created with certain special features which are not to be found in any other animal.

It can walk in the hot desert under scorching sun for days and days without feeling tired or thirsty and arrive at the intended destination with his rider - the traveller. Hence the Arabs have named this animal as the 'Ship of the Desert'.

It was this same animal which had fulfilled in excellent manner the task of conveying the Prophet of Islam from Mecca to Medina. It had also served well in the cause of Islam.

The Prophet, tried of the tortures by the disbelieving Quraish, decided to migrate from Mecca to Medina. He had hidden himself in the cave of Thaur to protect himself against the enemies who wanted to kill him.

Hazrat Ali (a.s.) sent three camels with a guide to the cave. The Prophet, mounting one of the camels, left the cave in the dark of the night, destined for Medina. On the way, several miracles took place which showed that God's help was always there to protect the Prophet against the attacks of his enemies.

The distance between Mecca and Medina is about three hundred fifty kilometres. In those days, it used to take eleven days to travel between the two places. But in this instance, the camel carrying the Prophet took only eight days to reach Medina. The Prophet (s.a.w.) travelled at night, resting during the day-time. He was doing so to protect himself against the desert heat as well as to keep away from being seen by the enemies.

On the eight day, the Prophet along with his companions reached a place known as Quba, just two kilometres outside Madina. There he rested for several days, waiting for Hazrat Ali (a.s.) and family members. After their arrival they proceeded to enter the city. On seeing the date trees on the outskirts of the holy city, they felt happy and relieved to have finally come out safe from the tortures of their enemies.

The people of Madina keenly awaited his arrival. Suddenly someone from the top of a hill announced that the Prophet had arrived. On hearing this, the people became wild with extreme joy and recited "Allah-O-Akbar - Allah-O-Akbar" - "God is Great - God is Great".

The Prophet dismounted the camel just outside Madina and sat down under a date tree. People rushed forward to greet and welcome him to their city. He was Ioved by all and everyone was keen to salute him. After the traditional welcome ceremony, the Prophet mounted his camel to enter the holy city. All around, there were expressions of great joy. The children got together and in loud voices chanted the following welcoming poem: -

"TALA-AL BADRU ALAINA MIN THANAYATIL WADAI WAJABAS-SHUKRU ALAINA MA DA'A - LLAHA DAI" "The full moon is shining on us from the area of gardens. We must offer thanks (to Allah) so long as anyone prays before Allah"

"AYYUHAL MAB-UTHU FIINA JE'TA BIL AMRIL MUTAI JE'TA SHAR-RAFTAL MADINA MARHABAN YA KHAIRA DAI"

"O The one sent to us, you have come with commands which we shall obey. You came and graced Madina, we salute and welcome you, 'O' the best caller (towards Allah)"

It was hardly three years since the people of Madina had embraced Islam and had started to worship Allah. The young boys in the city were given a job to eradicate the worship of idols. Wherever they saw an idol, they destroyed it and set fire to it.

One day, the youths came to know that Omar bin Janah, the chief of Barti Salma tribe, had still preserved his idol and worshipped it. In order to impress upon him the uselessness of worshipping an idol made of wood, they removed it from his place and threw it down a pit. The Chief, on tracing the idol to where it was lying, brought it back, washed it and kept it in its original place. But the next day again it was removed and thrown into the pit.

The Chief was very much disturbed at this. For the last time he brought home this idol and cleaned it. He then put his sword around its neck and said to the idol: "If henceforth anybody comes to you, promptly take action and kill him with the sword."

On the next day, the idol was again missing. This time he found it tied to a dead body of a dog. There was no effect at all of the sword which he had tied around the neck of the idol. This incident made him lose faith in his man-made wooden idol. He abandoned the idol-worship altogether. On becoming a Muslim, he uttered a poem as under:

"Alas! O'my idol! If you were my god, you would not have reached this stage and I would not have seen you in the pit along with a dead dog. I have now put my faith in the Almighty Allah, from Whom come all blessings. It is He Who has freed me from darkness of ignorance."

This is one of the examples of how the young Muslim volunteers of Madina helped the Prophet in putting an end to idol worship and spread the true message of Islam.

When the Prophet entered the city amid great rejoicing, every one wanted him to stay at his house. Particularly, the chiefs of all the tribes were keen to have the Prophet as their guest. Everyone insisted but the Prophet ordered: "Let the reins of the camel loose and I shall get down and stay where it stops by itself." The camel went ahead further and further till it stopped at a big open land. It was a place where people used to dry their dates and other farm produce. It knelt there and sat.

The Prophet dismounted and asked the people, whose land it was. They replied that it belonged to two small children by the name of SAHL and SUHAIL. Nearby was the house of ABU AYYUB. ABU AYYUB'S mother came forward and took away the luggage of the Prophet to her house. People again persuaded him to put up in their house but the Prophet asked: "Where is my luggage?" The reply was that the mother of ABU AYYUB had taken them to her house.

And the Prophet said: "One has to go to stay at a place where one's luggage and belonging go to." Some time later, the name of Yathrib was changed to 'Madina-tun-Nabii' i.e. 'the city of the Prophet! He named the people of that city as ANSAR (helpers) and those who had migrated from Mecca as MUHAJIREEN (immigrants). All these people, i.e. the Ansar and the muhajireen got together and united in the common bond of brotherhood of Islam.

Nazr: A Vow With Allah To Be Fulfilled

Imam Hasan (a.s.) and Imam Husain (a.s.) were still very young probably in their fifth or sixth year of age. Once, both of them fell sick and their parents, Imam Ali (a.s.) and Bibi Fatima (a.s.) were grieved to see them in unhealthy condition.

The Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (s.a.w.) came to see them. He loved them very much and on seeing them sick, he also was much grieved. They all prayed for their quick recovery. The Holy Propht suggested to the parents to keep a Nazr for the restoration of the health of the children. Thereupon, Hazrat Ali (a.s.) and Bibi Fatima (a.s.) made a Nazr (a vow) that they would fast three days upon the recovery of the children.

Allah accepted their prayers and granted their wish. Both the children recovered from their illness. Hazrat Ali (a.s.) and Bibi Fatima (a.s.) decided to fast in fulfilment of the Nazr. When the two children came to know of this, they too decided to fast. The maid-servant in the house, Bibi Fizza, who loved the children very much also decided to join in the fast on the happy occasion of their recovery.

On the first day of the fasting, Hazrat Ali (a.s.) went out in the morning and brought 3 saa wool for spinning and 3 saa barley as its wages. Bibi Fatima (a.s.) spinned 1 saa wool, then ground 1 saa barley, and prepared five loaves of bread. In the evening, all of them gathered to break the fast and each of them had a loaf placed before him. When they heard the Adhan (call to prayers), they prayed and sat to break the fast.

Suddenly, a poor man knocked on their door and asked for something to eat. All of them, one by one, passed their loaves to the beggar. There was no other food in the house, so all of them had to be content with water. They went to bed and slept without food. The next day they fasted again in fulfilment of the Nazr, but yet with almost empty stomach.

Second day, Bibi Fatima (a.s.) again spinned 1 saa of wool, ground 1 saa of barley, and again backed 5 loaves. Again they sat together to break the fast with the usuai one loaf of bread for each. As they were about to break the fast, an orphan came all of a sudden to their door and asked for food saying he was very hungry.

Although the inmates of the house were themselves hungry for two days, they were happy to feed the boy. Everyone gave his or her bread to the orphan. They again slept without any food.

On the third day as they sat down to break the fast, a prisoner knocked at their door asking for something to eat. Although the people of the house of the Holy Prophet had been suffering from near starvation for the last three days, they again gave away all the bread to the prisoner and contented themselves only with water for the third day in succession.

It was in appreciation of these sacrifices, that Almighty Allah revealed the whole Sura 'Ad-Dahr', which contains, among other things, the following Ayat:

"They fulfill vows and fear a day the evil of which shall be spreading far and wide. " (76:7) This is how Ahle-Bait, the people of the household of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), kept and fulfilled their Nazr (vow). They also set example of sacrifice by feeding the poor and caring for those who were in need.

The tradition of Nazr is a very old one. During the time of Bani Israel, centuries back, in the name of God, people used to present their sons at Baitul-Muqdas, in the service of the pious people there. They used to stay within the walls of the mosques.

Once Imran, the father of Hazrat Maryam (Mary) got the good news that Almighty would bless him with a child. The child would be so gifted that with the command of God, he would cure the sick, restore sight to the blinds, bring life back unto the dead and he shall also be a Prophet of God. When Bibi Hanna, the mother of Hazrat Maryam, heard this news, she vowed that she would free the child from the worldly attachments (to spend life in the service of Allah). The following Ayat in the Qur'an refers to this event:

"When a woman of Imran said: My Lord! surely I vow to Thee what is in my womb, to be devoted (to Thy service); accept therefore from me, surely Thou art the Hearing, the Knowing" (3:35)

Over 2000 years ago people worshipped idols in Arabia. There was a King by the name of Hassan who decided to destory the Holy Kaaba. Because of this evil intention, he fell sick and ended being a leper.

Upon realising his mistake, he begged pardon from God and vowed that if his health was restored, he would place Ghilaf (Covering) over the Holy Kaaba. This wish of his was fulfilled and he, in turn placed the Ghilaf made of palm leaves. For many years a new black cover made of thick cloth is being placed on Kaaba every year.

Thus Nazr is a media by which a human being seeks assistance and pleasure of God. Whenever one prays to God for assistance, it is recommended that one uses a media which can take him to God. Nazr is one of such medias.

Whenever a person keeps a Nazr and prays for something from God and upon being granted his wish when he fulfills the Nazr which he had pledged, his faith in Allah is enhanced. As faith increases, one tries to refrain from sins and endeavours to do more virtuous deeds in order to please and be nearer to Allah.