The Master Of All Martyrs

Hamzah Ibn ‘Abdul Muttalib

Hamzah Ibn ‘Abdul Muttalib was a master amongst Quraish masters and an adornment to its youth… He was known for his courage, knighthood, and his love for hunting… When the Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, was announced as Messenger, he was neither supporting nor objecting to this new religion… He only kept observing that great event, without any interference, for the Messenger was a foster brother to him… It was Thûwaybah the slave of ’Abû Lahab who had nursed both of them… Hamzah was two years older than the Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him,… He is also his uncle (brother of his father)… Hamzah’s mother was the cousin of the Prophet’s, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, mother… Therefore he was related to him from both sides; father and mother..

It was a three-sided of relationship which made the Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, one of the closest men to Hamzah’s heart… For that reason, he was very furious when he knew -after he came back from a hunting trip- that ’Abû Jahl had spoken harshly to the Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, and insulted him with what he hated most of insults, while the Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, had not even answered back… Hamzah went to Ka’bah where ’Abû Jahl was sitting amongst the people of Quraish… He hit him hard with his bow on his head and said: How can you insult Muhammad while I am a believer to his religion and I say what he says?!… Everyone was shocked to that hard blow that injured their chief’s face and to what Hamzah said… They were rather astonished and asked him: O Hamzah… Have you turned against your beliefs..

Hamzah replied: Yes, I say what Muhammad says, and I testify that he speaks the truth… So if ’Abû Jahl has the courage to repeat to me what he told Muhammad, let him do that, and he shall see what I shall do to him…

With these words, everybody was silent… For that was the last thing they expected, that Hamzahh Ibn ‘Abdul Muttalib - being the mighty knight of Quraish and the symbol of its courage - would support his nephew…

Hamzah leaves, and he leaves behind his anger… He is calm again and finds that he had rushed in announcing what he announced, which was out of anger and fury, and not out of true belief and conviction…

Hamzah returns home and stays up all night in deep doubt about this serious matter… He heads to Ka’bah and makes Tawâf  (going around Ka’bah seven times)… He asks for Allah’s help to enlighten him to the truth… As soon as he finishes Tawâf, he feels that his love to Islam has been put  by Allah in his heart… He goes right away to the Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, and tells him… The Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, prays to Allah that Hamzah’s faith becomes forever solid…

And because Hamzah became a Muslim, Quraish had to reduce the hurt they caused the Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him,… He, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, was now protected…

During the Hijrah, Hamzah immigrates too along with the people who did… He was honoured by being the first man to lead a Muslim squadron, and the first man to carry the Prophet’s, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, banner… It is Allah’s will that the Muslims and the non-believers meet in the battle of Badr without previous planning… The very strong men of Quraish went out, fully equipped to save their caravan… Three of their strongest fighters Shaybah Ibn Rabî‘ah, ‘Utbah Ibn Rabî‘ah and Al Walîd Ibn ‘Utbah who speak up saying: Is any of you ready to fight a duel?..

Some of  ’Ansâr (supporters) show themselves up, but they tell them: Indeed you are worthy of respect, but we need to see our equal competitors from Quraish to fight us… Hamzahh Ibn ‘Abdul Muttalib appears from the midst of the army lines… His chest was decorated with ostrich feathers, he held a sword in each hand… With him appear ‘Alî Ibn ’Abî Tâlîb and ‘Ubaidah Ibn Al Hârîth Ibn ‘Abdul Muttalib.. The duel takes place, and Hamzah kills Shaybah Ibn Rabî‘ah, and ‘Alî kills Al Walîd Ibn ‘Utbah… ‘Ubaidah Ibn Al Hârîth and ‘Utbah Ibn Rabî‘ah fight… Hamzah joins them and he kills ‘Utbah Ibn Rabî‘ah… The battle starts, and Hamzah starts assaulting and fighting with his sword… He kills Tu‘aymah Ibn ‘Adî, Al Mut‘îm Ibn ‘Adî’s brother… The Muslims -though few in number and armour- win the battle by Allah’s help… The Muslims killed seventy of the non-believers and captured another seventy… Amongst the men who were killed were ‘Uqbah Ibn ’Abî Ma‘ayt, ’Umaiah Ibn Khalaf , ’Abû Jahl,..  Those were strong men from Quraish and most cruel they were to the Muslims in Makkah… The defeated men from Quraish return to Makkah degraded and humiliated, determined to take revenge, especially from that fighter who fought with two swords and caused them all that injury, known as the lion of Allah and His Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, Hamzahh Ibn ‘Abdul Muttalib…

Jubair Ibn Mut‘îm calls upon his Ethiopian slave Wahshî and tells him: If you kill Hamzah in revenge for my uncle, Tu‘aimah Ibn ‘Adî, then you will be set free… Hind Bint ‘Utbah’s father and brother were also killed by Hamzah in a duel, so she calls upon Wahshî and tells him: All what I own of gold is yours if you kill Hamzah…

Quraish starts getting ready for the battle of ’Uhud… Wahshî joins them, but all what he is determined to do is getting Hamzah… The non-believers are attacked severely, and Hamzah starts assaulting and fighting with his sword… He kills thirty one men of the non-believers… The Muslims almost win the battle, had it not been that some of the archers disobeyed the Prophet’s, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, orders and left their places, and so the Muslims started losing the battle… During that time, Wahshî was keeping an eye on Hamzah… He kept away from taking part in the battle for that reason… Hamzah fell on his back and so the armour fell off his stomach… Wahshî took this chance and killed him… The Muslims were defeated and escaped helplessly…

The non-believing women approached the battlefield… Every one of them -filled with revenge- was cutting apart the Muslim bodies, tearing off their ears and cutting apart their stomachs… Hind Bint ‘Utbah found Hamzah’s body amongst the Muslims slaughtered men… She cut his stomach apart and took out his liver… She bit it with her teeth but she was disgusted, so she spit it out… On that, the Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, commented: “If Hamzah’s liver would have entered her stomach, she would have not been touched by the fire of Hell”[1]..

The non-believers return full of joy with their victory, and their revenge, while ’Abû Sufyân announces happily: This day is a day of (revenge) for the day of Badr and the issue of war is undecided, and you shall find in your people how they have been torn and cut, but that does not please nor upset me…

The Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, goes inspecting the killed men… When he sees his uncle Hamzah, he weeps… And when he sees what Hind has done to his body, he whooped, then said: “May Allah mercy you my uncle, for you were kind to your kin, and a man of good deeds”… He, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, continued: “If  Safiyah -Hamzah’s sister- would not grieve, I would have left him here… For he shall be risen (on the Day of Judgment) from the stomachs of the birds and the beasts”… He, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, then continued: “If I would revenge, I would take seventy men in return for Hamzah”…

Allah’s verses followed: (And if you punish (your enemy, O you believers in the Oneness of Allâh), then punish them with the like of that with which you were afflicted. But if you endure patiently, verily, it is better for As-Sâbirûn (the patient). And endure you patiently (O Muhammad, Allâh’s Prayers and Peace be upon him), your patience is not but from Allâh. And grieve not over them (polytheists and pagans), and be not distressed because of what they plot). (An-Nahl “The Bees”,126-127).

The Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, prayed to Hamzah’s soul… He said: Allahu-Akbar (Allah is The Most Great) seven times (funeral prayer)… And whenever He, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, prayed for the other killed men, he prayed for Hamzah also… It ended up that he, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, prayed for him seventy two times… The Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, used to shroud two martyrs of ’Uhud in one sheet and then say: “Which of them knew Qur’ân more?!”…When one of the two was singled out, he would put him first in the grave.. Then he, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, said: “I will be a witness for them on the Day of Resurrection”[2] He ordered them to be buried with their blood (on their bodies). They were not washed.. Hamzah was buried with his nephew ‘Abdullah Ibn Jahsh in one grave…

When the Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, returned to Al Madînah, he heard the sobbing and weeping for the murdered ’Ansâr (supporters)… He said: “How about Hamzah, there is no one weeping for him”[3]…

The ’Ansâr (supporters) on hearing that, ordered their women to lament for Hamzah, even before crying for their own victims, so the women did that… Ka‘b Ibn Mâlik and Hassân Ibn Thâbit composed verses of lament and pity for Hamzah. All the women of Al Madînah cry for Hamzah’s death. The Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, comes out to them saying: “I did not mean it to be so.. Refrain from what you’re doing, may Allah mercy you… There should be no weeping after this day”…

Forty years later, and during the Kalifah (Caliph) of Mu‘âwiyah Ibn ’Abû Sufyân, a flood swept away some of the graves of ’Uhud… The people panic, and rush to cover the messed up graves… When they touched the martyrs, they could feel their flesh still warm and flexible that it could be bent (not stiff)… When the shovel touched Hamzah Ibn ‘Abdul Muttalib’s  leg, blood burst out of it…

For Allah’s words are the truth: (Think not of those who are killed in the Way of Allâh as dead. Nay, they are alive, with their Lord, and they have provision) (Âl-‘Imrân “The Family of Imran”,169).

As for Wahshî, the Ethiopian slave, he returned to Makkah and was set free… When the Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, opened Makkah, he escaped to Tâ’if[4]… When Tâ’if was opened, and its people became Muslims, he was left helpless… He thought of escaping to Shâ’m or Yemen… A man told him: Waihaka O Wahshî… By Allah, the Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, would not kill a man who has become a Muslim… Wahshî went to the Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, announcing Ash-Shahâdah[5] to become a Muslim… The Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, told him: “Are you Wahshî?!”.. He said: Yes, O Prophet of Allah.. The Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, said: “Tell me, how did you kill Hamzah?!”… So Wahshî told him… The Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, said: “Waihaka… Can you hide your face from me?”..

Wahshî avoided to come across the Prophet’s, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, way, so He, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, would not see him and get distressed… Wahshî did that till the Prophet Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, died..

When the Muslims fought Musailamah Al Kadhdhâb (the Liar) during the ruling time of  ’Abû Bakr As-Siddîq, Wahshî went out with them… He used the same spear -by which he had killed Hamzah- and killed Musailamah Al Kadhdhâb with it…  He kept saying: If I had killed the best of all men by my spear, I pray that Allah would forgive me if I kill the worst of all men by the same spear..

It is from the greatness of Islam that it wipes off what preceded… For whatever sin a man commits before convert to Islam, by starting as a Muslim, he is starting a new phase in his life…It is as if he is reborn… On the other hand, if a man does good deeds before becoming a Muslim, he is rewarded for these good deeds after becoming a Muslim..

The Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, was asked about the good deeds a Muslim had done before becoming a Muslim… He, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, was asked by a man about some good deeds this man had done, in Jâhilia, before becoming a Muslim by saying: How about the good deeds that I have done during my pre-Islamic days?!.. The Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, replies: “Although you have become a Muslim lately, yet you shall be granted the reward for the good deeds you have done before Islam”[6].