(Friday Sermon - April 26, 2019 )

Background

Hazrat Wahab bin Sa‘d bin Abi Sarh’s^(ra) father’s name was Sa‘d and he belonged to the Banu Aamir bin Lowi tribe. Hazrat Wahab^(ra) was the brother of Abdullah bin Wahab bin Sarh. His mother’s name was Mahana bint Jabir and she belonged to the Ashari tribe. (al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, p. 217, Wahab bin Sa‘d, Dar Ihyaa al-Turath al-Arabi, Beirut, 1996)

Abdullah bin Sa‘d bin Abi Sarh – The Apostate Scribe

Abdullah bin Sa‘d bin Abi Sarh, the brother of Hazrat Wahab^(ra), was the same Katib-e-Wahi [scribe who would write down revelations] who became an apostate. Regarding Hazrat Wahab’s brother, Hazrat Musleh Maud^(ra) has written the following details:

“From among the scribes of the Holy Prophet^(sa), one of them was named Abdullah bin Abi Sarh.”

In Siratul Halabiyyah it is written that he was the foster brother of Hazrat Uthman^(ra) bin Affan. Nonetheless, Hazrat Musleh Maud^(ra) further says:

“When the Holy Prophet^(sa) would receive a revelation, he would call for him and ask for it to be written down. One day, the Holy Prophet^(sa) was dictating verses 14 and 15 of Surah al-Muminun. When he reached the verse:

ثُمَّ اَنْشَاْنٰہُ خَلْقًا اٰخَرَ

Abdullah, (the scribe being referred to) spontaneously said:

فَتَبَارَکَ اللّٰہُ اَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِیْنَ

This is mentioned in Surah al-Muminun, verse 15. The Holy Prophet^(sa) said that this is exactly the verse that was revealed and asked him to write it down. This wretched individual did not realise that in fact the verse he recited was in fact a natural sequence in relation to the previous verses.

From this, he inferred that just as the Holy Prophet^(sa) had considered his uttered words as divine revelation, the Holy Prophet^(sa) himself was [God forbid] fabricating the entire text of the Quran. He thus became an apostate and left for Mecca. Abdullah bin Abi bin Sarh was among those individuals for whom the Holy Prophet^(sa) had stipulated capital punishment. Abdullah bin Abi bin Sarh was one of them. Hazrat Uthman^(ra) however, gave him refuge. Details of the nature of this refuge are as follows:

At the occasion of the conquest of Mecca, when Abdullah bin Abi Sarh came to know that his execution had been ordered, he went to his foster brother, Uthman bin Affan^(ra) seeking refuge and said, ‘O brother, grant me refuge from the Holy Prophet^(sa), before he has me killed.’” This is recorded in Siratul Halabiyyah.

Hazrat Musleh Maud^(ra) further writes,

“He remained in hiding at Hazrat Uthman’s^(ra) residence for three or four days. One day as the Holy Prophet^(sa) was taking the oath of allegiance from some Meccans, Hazrat Uthman^(ra) brought Abdullah bin Abi Sarh in the presence of the Holy Prophet^(sa) and requested him to accept his pledge of allegiance. For a moment, the Holy Prophet^(sa) remained quiet, after which he accepted his pledge of allegiance. Like this, Abdullah bin Abi Sarh once again accepted Islam.” (Tafsir-e-Kabir, Vol. 6, p. 139) (al-Sirat al-Halabiyyah, Vol. 3, p. 130, Bab Dhikr Maghaziyah/Fath Makkah, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2002)

There were many other reasons why the initial instruction to execute him had been given. He had fanned the flames of discord and disorder. The commandment of execution was not given because he had become an apostate but in fact there were many other crimes of his.

Bond of Brotherhood, Participation in Battles and Martyrdom

Asim bin Umar relates that when Hazrat Wahab^(ra) migrated from Mecca to Medina, he stayed at the house of Hazrat Kulthum bin Hidam^(ra). The Holy Prophet^(sa) had established a bond of brotherhood between Hazrat Wahab^(ra) and Hazrat Suwaid bin Amr^(ra). These two, i.e. the recently established brothers, were both martyred in the Battle of Mautah. Hazrat Wahab^(ra) participated in the battles of Badr, Uhud, Khandaq, Treaty of Hudaybiyyah and Khaybar and he passed away in Jumada al-Ula 8 AH in the Battle of Mautah. He was 40 years of age on the day of his demise.  (al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, p. 217, Wahab bin Sa‘d, Dar Ihyaa al-Turath al-Arabi, Beirut, 1996)

Battle of Mautah

What was the Battle of Mautah and what were the causes behind it? This has been mentioned in Tabaqaat al-Kubra.

This battle took place in Jumada al-Ula in 8 AH. The Holy Prophet^(sa) sent Harith bin Umair with a letter as a messenger to the King of Busrah. When they reached the place called Mautah, they met with Shurahbeel bin Amr Ghassaani, who was one of the governors of Syria appointed by the Roman emperor, this is according to Siratul Halabiyyah. He stopped them and martyred them. Other than Harith bin Umair, no other messenger of the Holy Prophet^(sa) was martyred. When news of this tragedy reached the Holy Prophet^(sa), it bore heavily on his heart and he was aggrieved on account of his demise. The Holy Prophet^(sa) called upon the people to gather for battle. The people gathered, and the total number of the army was 3,000. The Holy Prophet^(sa) declared that the leader of this group would be Hazrat Zaid^(ra) bin Haritha, and after preparing a white flag and handing it to Zaid^(ra), the Prophet advised, “Go to the place where Hazrat Harith^(ra) bin Umair has been martyred and invite the people there to Islam. If they accept it, then fine, but if they do not, then seek Allah’s help against them and engage with them in battle.” (al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 2, p. 314, Siryah Mautah, Dar Ihyaa al-Turath al-Arabi, Beirut, 1996) (al-Sirat al-Halabiyyah, Vol. 3, p. 96, Bab Dhikr Maghaziyah/Ghazwah Mautah, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2002)

Hazrat Wahab^(ra) was also a part of this battle. Hazrat Abdullah^(ra) bin Umar states that the Holy Prophet^(sa) appointed Hazrat Zaid^(ra) bin Haritha during the expedition of Mautah as their leader, and said “If Zaid is martyred, then Jafar will be your leader, and if he is also martyred, then Abdullah bin Rawahah shall take his place.” This group of men was also known as the Infantry of Leaders. (Sahih Bukhari, Kitabul Maghazi, Bab Ghazwah Mautah Ard al-Sham, Hadith 4261) (Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal, Vol. 7, p. 505, Hadith 22918, Musnad Abu Qatadah Ansari, Alamul Kutub, Beirut, 1998)

Whilst elaborating on this, Hazrat Musleh Maud^(ra) has written that according to one narration, a Jew who was sitting nearby, heard what the Holy Prophet^(sa) had just said and approached Hazrat Zaid^(ra) and said to him, “If Muhammad^(sa) is true then none of the three of you shall return from the battle alive.” At this, Hazrat Zaid^(ra) replied, “Regardless of whether I return from this battle alive or not, it is an undeniable truth that the Prophet Muhammad^(sa) is a true Messenger and a truthful Prophet of God.” (Fareezah-e-Tabligh aur Ahmadi Khawatin, Anwarul Ulum, Vol. 18, pp. 405-406)

The news about the martyrs of this battle was conveyed through divine revelation to the Holy Prophet^(sa). Regarding this there is a narration, in which Hazrat Anas^(ra) bin Malik relates that the Holy Prophet^(sa) stated, “Zaid took up the holding of the flag and he was martyred, after which Jafar took hold of the flag and he, too, was martyred, and after this, Abdullah bin Rawahah took hold of the flag and he was also martyred.” While telling this to the people, tears were flowing from the eyes of the Holy Prophet^(sa). After this the Prophet^(sa) went on to say, “Thereafter, from among the ranks, Khalid^(ra) bin Waleed stepped up and took hold of the flag and they were ultimately granted victory.” (Sahih Bukhari, Kitabul Janaiz, Bab al-Rajulu Jan’aa ilaa Ahlil Mayyit bi Nafsihi, Hadith 1246)