Bilal's Bedtime Stories (part Two)

Heraclues and Islam

Arabia, during the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), was a country without any central authority. It was a country far from the civilised nations of those days.

At the time Prophet Muhammed (s.a.w.) was spreading Islam; asking people to turn away from worshipping idols to worshipping Allah, the Almighty, the All-Knower, the Master.

The Prophet sent letters of invitation to Kings and Rulers of various countries in the world, inviting them to embrace Islam. Many of the letters were met with a favourable response whilst others were rejected. In many cases, the Messengers of the Prophet were badly treated and abused. But the Prophet was not worried by these setbacks. He was inviting people to the right path and a few setbacks could not deter him from propagating Islam.

Abu Sufyan, a leader of the tribe of Quraish and the arch enemy of the Prophet was in Constantinople on a business trip, when the Prophet's letter of invitation reached Heracleus, the Bazantine emperor of Eastern Roman Empire. Heracleus, at the time was in his court at Constantinople celebrating his victory over the Persians.

Heracleus read the letter through an interpreter and then asked the people in his court, to find out if there was someone in the city who knew the Prophet. Abu Sufyan with his companions was brought into the court. The emperor asked Abu Sufyan, "What kind of family does Muhammad belong to?"

"Noble", replied Abu Sufyan "Has there been a King in his family?" Heracleus asked.

"No," said Abu Sufyan "Are the people who have accepted his religion poor or rich?" Heracleus questioned again. "They are poor", replied Abu Sufyan.

Heracleus was now becoming more and more interested and he went on asking questions. His next question was, "Are his followers on the increase or decrease?" "Increasing", Abu Sufyan replied shortly.

"Have you known him to tell lies?" asked Heracleus.

"No", admitted Abu Sufyan.

"Does he ever go against his convents?" Heracleus once again asked.

"Not so far. But we have to see whether he carries out the new agreement made between us and him", Abu Sufyan answered lengthily for a change.

"Have you ever fought him in wars?" Heracleus questioned.

"Yes", answered Abu Sufyan "What has been the result?" Heracleus asked, getting more and more interested.

"Sometimes we have won, sometimes he", replied Abu Sufyan. "What does he teach?" asked Heracleus "Worship One God, join no partners with Him, carry out your prayers, be chaste, speak the truth and keep union with your relatives" answered Abu Sufyan, even surprised at his own answer as it sounded like he was preaching Islam.

Heracleus, stood up and said, "If all you said is true, then I am sure that this Prophet's Kingdom will reach here where I am standing. I was certain that a Prophet was coming, but I didn't know that he would be born in Arabia. If I were to go there, I would embrace Islam and wash the Prophet's feet with my own hands." This was the way in which the Prophet spread Islam.

He impressed them by his truthfulness, honesty, noble character and dedication in the service of Allah. He did not compel people to accept Islam under threat of waging wars, nor did he compel people to accept Islam by the force of the sword. He fought only in defence, and only when the enemies waged war on him.

JA'FER - AT - TAIYAAR THE REFUGEE WHO BROUGHT ISLAM TO AFRICA

When the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) began to preach religion of Islam in Mecca, those who did not believe in him and his message, opposed and troubled him. They called him a lunatic and a sorcerer. They offered bribes to persuade him to stop preaching the religion. When all these ways failed, they used harsh threats against the Prophet and the new Muslim converts.

During all these years, the Holy Prophet enjoyed the protection of his uncle Abu Talib. He always stood by his newphew and did not let anyone harm him. The sons of Abu Talib, one by one, accepted Islam. Hazrat Ali (a.s.) was right, from his childhood, under the care of the Prophet and was the first one to declare his true faith, Islam, when the Prophet proclaimed his prophethood. He always stood by the Prophet firmly and faithfully both in good and difficult times. Among the other sons of Abu Talib (a.s.), Ja'fer also accepted Islam and so did Aqeel, the other son of Abu Talib.

The torture and oppression which the Holy Prophet and the small group of his followers had been subjected to, had increased so much that life became unbearable. The Holy Prophet decided on an action which not only saved the lives of his followers but also spread the message of Islam to other countries. He therefore, decided to send some of his followers to Abyssinia., which was just across the Red Sea, to the south of Mecca.

The Holy Prophet had great faith in Ja'fer the son of Abu Talib (a.s.) and brother of Hazrat Ali (a.s.). The handful of Muslim refugees including men and women under the leadership of Ja'fer crossed the Red Sea. This is known to be the first migration in the history of Islam, which occured in the fifth year after the Prophet had proclaimed Islam in 615 A.D. They were joined by more immigrants who had become the victims of the enemies of Islam. The number of the refugees rose to eighty-two men and eighteen women.

On arrival at the capital of Abyssinia, Ja'fer and his companions paid a visit to the Emperor Negus. The Emperor was very much impressed with the knowledge, behaviour and the politenes of Ja'fer and he received him with much honour and entertained him as a respected guest.

When the non-believers of Quraish in Mecca came to know of this, Abdulla Bin Rabia and Amr Bin 'Aas together with some other people took some expensive gifts and arrived at the court of the Emperor Negus. On entering the court, they prostrated (bowed in sajda) before the Emperor and presented him with the gifts. Then they said, "Someone in our country has invented a new religion and some people have joined him. We tried to stop this, but some of his followers have taken refuge in your country. Now, we appeal to you to throw them out and hand them over to us."

The Emperor replied that he had already given protection to them and would not throw them out of the country, but he would ask them to come there before them. So saying, the Emperor called in the Muslim refugees.

Hazrat Ja'fer took with him some close companions and arrived at the court. But he did not prostrate (bow in sajda) before Negus. People in the court criticised him for this and asked him why he had not bowed down before the Emperor as was customary. Hazrat Ja'fer promptly retorted, "We do not bow down before anybody except God."

The Emperor knew that this was the true and basic teaching of divine religions. He called Ja'fer and gave a respectful place near him. He then informed Ja'fer that some people from his country of origin had come there with a complaint that he had deserted his old religion and started a new one which rejected the original idol-worship. Hazrat Ja'fer in very impressive language, replied:

"O King! We were in deep ignorance and barbarism; we adored idols, we lived in unchastity; we ate dead animals, we disregarded the duties of hospitality and neighbourhood; At that time, God raised among us a man, who is pure, truthful and honest.

He called us to believe in One God and taught us not to associate anything with Him. He forbade us to worship idols, enjoined us to speak the truth, to be faithful to our trusts, to be merciful and to regard the rights of neighbours. He forbade us to speak evil of women. He ordered us to keep away from vices, to offer prayers, to pay alms and to observe the fast"

Negus told Ja'fer to recite some words from the Holy Quran. Ja'fer commenced with Bismillah and proceeded to recite a few lines from Surae Maryam with such sincerity and sweet voice that the Emperor and his people were very much moved and began to weep. When the Emperor heard the verse concerning Hazrat Isa (Jesus), he was very touched and said that the words resembled those which were bestowed upon Hazrat Musa (Moses) and Hazrat Isa (Jasus).

The Emperor rejected the appeal of the Quraish and ordered Amr bin 'Aas to take away the gifts he had brought. Amr bin 'Aas went away but having thought of something, he returned to ihe court the next day. He made a cunning move by suggesting to the Emperor to ask the Muslims as to what their belief was concerning Hazrat Isa? Hazrat Ja'fer was called to the court again and was given a very respectful welcome. The Emperor then asked: "What does your Prophet (Muhammad (s.a.w.)) say about Hazrat Isa (Jesus)?" The Muslims became worried but Hazrat Ja'fer, with great peace of mind, replied: "O King! Our Prophet is guided by God in what he says." Saying this, he proceeded to show an Ayat from the Holy Quran and requested Negus to read it:

"The Messiah (Isa), son of Marium is but a messenger; messengers before him have indeed passed away; and his mother was a truthful woman; they both used to eat food. See how We make the communications clear to them, then behold, how they are turned away." (5:75)

Negus was extremely pleased to learn this and said: "This actually is also there in our book of Injil." He then expelled Amr bin 'Aas and the infidels of Quraish from Abyssinia. From then onwards, Negus had high regard for and faith in Islam.

Thus Ja'fer had done a great service to Islam. He preached the true message of Islam in Abyssinia and stayed there for fifteen years before returning to Medina.

HAZRAT IBRAHIM AND THE IDOL WORSHIP

During the olden times, people everywhere used to carve stones and make idols for worship. These statues were considered as gods, and people bowed and prayed before them. Namrud, the King of Babylonia, was once informed by his astrologers that someone was going to be born who would destroy his kingdom. He would teach people another religious concept: that of worshipping none but only one God.

On hearing that, Namrud gave orders that no woman would conceive, hence no child would be born in his kingdom. If any child was born, it would be killed immediately. The mother of Prophet Hazrat Ibrahim became pregnant. But by the will of Allah, no sign of pregnancy was to be seen. When the time of birth of the child came nearer, she went out of the town and hid in a cave. There, Hazrat Ibrahim was born. She then covered the child with a cloth, closed the mouth of the cave with stones and returned home without the child. She told nobody of what had happened.

The child was alone in the cave with no one to care for him. He was sucking the milk which flowed of his fingers - by the grace of Almighty God. The child grew up under Allah's protection. From time to time, his mother would come secretly to the cave to watch him. This went on for thirteen years. On one occassion when the mother visited the son, he beseeched her to take him out of the cave. The mother warned that he would be killed by the King if he came to know about him. But the child insisted that he be brought out of the cave as 13 years had been a long time.

Thus Hazrat Ibrahim came out of the cave for the first time. It was late In the evening when the sun was setting. When the night grew dark, he saw a star and he said, "Is this my Lord?". But when it set, he said, "I love not the setting ones." Then, when he saw the moon rising, he said.

"Is this my Lord?." But when it set, he said, "If my lord had not guided me, I would have certainly been among the mistaken ones." Then he saw the sun rising and said, "Is this my Lord? Is this the greatest?." But when it also set, he said, "O my peoplel Surely, I am clear of what you set up with Allah. Surely, I have turned myself wholly to the One Who created the heavens and the earth. I am not of the ones who believe and worship anything else other than Allah - the one God."

The people, at that time were not only idol-worshippers but they were also worshipping the stars, the sun, the moon etc. All the time, he was making them realise their error in their choice of 'gods'. He was showing his people what they called a god, did not deserve to be called god and worshipped if it disappeared at times. So Hazrat Ibrahim started preaching the belief of One god and persuading his people not to worship anything else but Allah, the one and only God.

Once, it was the time of annual festival in the town and according to their custom, Namrud, the King, went out of town with all his people to celebrate the day. Hazrat Ibrahim did not accompany them but stayed behind. He went to the temple where all the idols were kept, and broke all of them one by one. He left the biggest idol untouched, but put the axe on its shoulder.

When the King and his people returned they were very angry to see their idols destroyed. He said that he would kill the person who had caused that damage. The people told him that it must be a young man, named Ibrahim who always preached against the worship of idols. He must have destroyed them.

When Hazrat Ibrahim was asked if it was he who broke the idols. He replied, "Why do you not ask the chief (of the idols) who is standing safe. Perhaps he has done it, that is if your idol gods can speak, ask them as to who broke them." Thus Hazrat Ibrahim did not utter a lie denying what he had done. He only wanted the people to first ask their own idols as to who had done it.

Namrud got very angry and asked his people their opinion. Every one suggested that Hazrat Ibrahim be punished by burning him alive in a big fire.

So, Hazrat Ibrahim was jailed, while Namrud ordered that all available firewood in the forest be collected and be heaped up in one open place. When this was done, it was set alight. The fire burnt fiercely and widely for days and days. It had generated so much heat that no bird dared to fly nearby.

At the appointed day on which Hazrat Ibrahim was to be put in the fire and burnt, Namrud with his large army and followers came out to that place to watch. On seeing the huge fire and the intense heat, he began to ponder as to how it would be possible to convey Hazrat Ibrahim into the fire. Suddenly Satan, the devil, came and suggested that a type of a crane be prepared which could be used to hurle Hazrat Ibrahim into the fire. This would cut out the need of any assistance of human hands to do the risky job of delivering the Prophet into the raging fire.

The crane was constructed and Hazrat Ibrahim was lifted and readied to be dumped into the fire. On seeing this tragic happening, the angels in the heaven and all the creatures in the sky became deeply upset. Taking permission from Almighty Allah, one by one, they all came to Hazrat Ibrahim to inquire if they could be of any help to him.

The Prophet said that he was seeking help and protection from none of them. The one from whom he expected help (that is Almighty Allah), was fully aware of the dangerous situation in which he was and would help him if need be.

Just then, the angel, Gibrael came to the Prophet and gave him a ring on which the following was inscribed (written):

"There is no God but Allah" "Mohammed is the Prophet of Allah" "I depend and rely upon Allah" "I submit my affair to the will of Allah" Hazrat Ibrahim put the holy ring on his finger and the grace and blessing of Allah began to be showered upon him. Then came the command from Allah, "O fire! Be nothing but coolness and peace for Ibrahim."

Thus the burning fire instantly lost its heat and no harm came to the Prophet.

It is related that when Prophet Hazrat Ibrahim was being thrown into the fire, the angels in the heaven and the birds in the air cried in protest. One of them, a small weak bird decided to burn itself along with the Prophet. As it was flying towards the fire, the angel Gibrael was sent by Allah to inquire the reason why it was going to commit suicide.

The angel stopped the bird on the ground and asked it to explain its strange action - that of trying to burn itself along with Hazrat Ibrahim. The bird said: "Don't you know that the friend of God is to be burnt in the fire? As it is not within my strength to save him, I am showing my sorrow and sympathy by accompanying him into the fire!"

The angel conveyed this incident to Allah. Then came a command from Allah to tell the bird that it Would be rewarded for its sincere feeling shown for the Prophet. It was asked what it wished to have so that the wish be fulfilled. The bird in reply said: "I do not wish to have anything from this world. All I wish is to constantly remember Allah in prayer. There are a thousand and one names of Allah. I know hardly a hundred names.

I wish to be taught the remaining names." Almighty Allah fulfilled its desire. As it flew from tree to tree, it went on singing the names of Allah, thus remembering Him day and night.

To respect and sympathise with the friends of Allah; to remember Allah constantly in prayer is better than fulfilling worldly desires. This is what the little weak bird has shown to us. These are the acts of virtue which would one day undoubtedly earn great rewards from Allah.