Khabbâb Ibn Al ’Arat

When the Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, was sent, Khabbâb Ibn Al ’Arat was one of the first to believe in this new religion… For he was the sixth man to become a Muslim…The men who became Muslims preferred to keep their Islam as a secret as they feared they would be tortured for that… Only seven of them announced it: Allah’s Prophet Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, ’Abû Bakr As- Siddîq, Suhaib Ibn Sinân, Bilâl Ibn ’Abî Rabâh, Sumayah ’Um (mother) ‘Ammâr Ibn Yâsir, ‘Ammâr Ibn Yâsir and Khabbâb Ibn Al ’Arat…

As for Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, he was protected by Allah through his uncle ’Abû Tâlib… ’Abû Bakr As-Siddîq was protected by Allah through his people… As for the rest, they dressed them in steel armor and then they left them to burn in the sun and taste real torture…

Khabbâb was from one of the most elite Arab families… He was taken though as a slave in Jâhiliâ (Pre-Islamic time). A woman called ’Um ’Anmâr bought him… He was a sword and armour maker, he used a forge for melting iron… When ’Um ’Anmâr knew that he had become a Muslim, she used to burn his head with the hot melted iron to persuade him to announce Kufr (non-believing) again… He would refuse and insist on his deep faith… The more determined and positive he was, the more torture she forced on him…

Khabbâb said: I came to the Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, while he was leaning against his sheet cloak in the shade of the Ka’bah. Then we were suffering greatly from the pagans.. I said (to him): O Prophet of Allah… Will you invoke Allah (to help us)?.. The Prophet’s, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, sat down with a red face and said: “(A believer among) those who were before you was really combed with iron combs so that nothing of his flesh or nerves would remain on his bones; vet that would never make him desert his religion.… A saw might be put over the parting of his head which would be split into two parts, yet all that would never make him abandon his religion. Allah will surely complete this religion (i.e. Islam) so that a traveler from San‘â’ to Hadra-maut will not be afraid of anybody except Allah or the wolf, lest it should harm his sheep… But you do not wait, you are in a hurry to end that”[1] …

Khabbâb is patient to the unbearable torture… For the non-believers would go to ’Um ’Anmâr, heat the stones in the forge till it became red, then they would lay it on the ground and drag Khabbâb on it… Nothing would quench it but the flesh of his back… One day, Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, passes by and finds that Khabbâb has been tied down and chained by ’Um ’Anmâr and she stood there at his head cauterizing him with the hot melted iron while he says: There is no god but Allah… There is no god but Allah… Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, sympathized with Khabbâb and held his hands up and prayed: “Oh Allah… Grant Khabbâb victory”…

It is only a few days later that ’Um ’Anmâr is sick in her head with severe pain and a headache that makes her howl like dogs do… She finds no cure, and the doctors failed to help her, except by telling her she must be burned in her head… She goes willingly, on her own, to Khabbâb and asks him to heat the iron and burn her head… as she used to burn his!!…

Khabbâb is set free at last… Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, brings Khabbâb and Sa‘îd Ibn Zaid -Fâtimah Bint Al Khattâb’s husband, and one of the ten men promised to go to Paradise- together… Khabbâb shares with them their food, he teaches them the Qur’ân and reads with them… ‘Umar Ibn Al Khattâb hears about his sister and her husband becoming Muslims… He goes to them feeling very angry, but when he hears the Qur’ân from Khabbâb, Allah enlightens his heart to Islam and he says: Lead me to Muhammad.. On hearing that, Khabbâb rejoices and says: Allahu-Akbar… Allah.. Allah… O ‘Umar, I pray to Allah that you be part of the Prophet’s, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, prayer, for I have heard him yesterday saying: “O Allah… Support Islam by the one you love more of these two, ’Abû Al Hakam Ibn Hishâm and ‘Umar Ibn Al Khattâb”[2]…

Time passes, Khabbâb Ibn Al ’Arat immigrates to Al- Madînah and becomes from As-Suffah[3] people… They are the poor people who used to stay in Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, mosque, doing nothing except learning and reading the Qur’ân, praying with Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, and going with him wherever he, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, went…

(And keep yourself (O Muhammad, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him,) patiently with those who call on their Lord (i.e. your companions who remember their Lord with glorification, praising in prayers, and other righteous deeds) morning and afternoon, seeking His Face; and let not your eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp and glitter of the life of the world..).(Al-Khaf, “The Cave,28).

The Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, wonders about that matter… Whenever he comes out of his room, he Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, sees As-Suffah people dedicated to Al Qur’ân Al Karîm, studying it attentively… He, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, looks at them and says: “Praise be to Allah who has specified some of Muhammad’s nation for Muhammad to find patience with and amongst them”[4]… From that time, whenever Khabbâb and his friends -from As-Suffah- were seen by Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, he was welcoming and happy to see them… He would lay down his cloak for them to sit on, and tell them: “Welcome to those that Allah has asked me to be good to”…

Khabbâb was amongst the poor slaves who were mocked by the non-believers… They had asked Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, to stay away from them or to specify for them a particular day and another day for the rich and elite people only… Each group would sit and listen to Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, but separately, as they thought it was not eligible for them to sit with them or feel equal to them… These verses came by Jibrîl:

(And turn not away those who invoke their Lord, morning and afternoon seeking His Face. You are accountable for them in nothing, and they are accountable for you in nothing, that you may turn them away, and thus become of the Zâlimûn (unjust). Thus We have tried some of them with others, that they might say: “Is it these (poor believers) whom Allâh has favoured from amongst us?” Does not Allâh know best those who are grateful?). (Al-An‘âm, “The Cattle”,52-53).

Time passes, Khabbâb never stays behind in any of the Prophet’s, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, conquests… He attended Badr, and stood well during ’Uhud… He went through all the conquests …

The Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, dies, but Khabbâb continues to be a knight during the day and a monk at night during the Khilafah (ruling time) of ’Abû Bakr As-Siddîq then during the Khilafah (ruling time) of ‘Umar Ibn Al Khattâb… One day, ‘Umar Ibn Al Khattâb tells him: O Khabbâb, tell me how did the non-believers torture you in Makkah …Khabbâb shows ‘Umar his back and says: O ruler of the believers… Look at my back… When ‘Umar looked, he was astonished and said: I have never seen a man’s back like yours till this day -for on his back, there was no flesh-… Khabbâb said: Fire was lit and I was dragged on it, nothing put out the fire except the flesh of my back…

Khabbâb falls seriously ill… He remains sick for days and months… He used to say: If Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, had not forbidden us to want to die, I would have prayed for it… His friends go to visit him they find him weeping… They would tell him: Rejoice ’Abû ‘Abdullah… You shall meet with your friends at Al Hawd[5] (the basin -pure drinking water in heaven).. He cries even more to hear that and says: By Allah, I do not weep because I hate death, nor for my love to this life… But you have mentioned some of our deceased brethren who have passed away without receiving any worldly reward… I have been here in this life until I received some worldly reward and I fear that is my reward, but that will not help me when I am laid down in the dust…(He refers to his house which he built in Kûfah)… He then refers to some money that he had kept aside saying: By Allah… I have never been too cautious towards this money, as I have never refrained from giving away any of it to a needing man…

Khabbâb is about to meet Allah with a fleshless back, and a body without a spot free from burnt scars, even on his head, yet he continues weeping… He asked that he be buried in Kûfah borders when he dies…

He dies when he is 73 (seventy three) years old in the year 37 (thirty seven) of Hijrah… He had started a good habit for the people; that they would bury their lost ones away from their homes…

Zaid Ibn Wahb relates about that: We walked with ‘Alî Ibn ’Abî Tâlib when he returned back from Siffîn battle… When we reached Kûfah’s gate, we saw seven graves on our right… ‘Alî said: What are these graves?… They replied: O ruler of the believers… Khabbâb Ibn Al ’Arat died after you have left to Siffîn and asked to be buried in the borders of Kûfah… Before that, people used to bury their lost ones in their yards, and near their entrance doors… When they found that Khabbâb had ordered to be buried near the borders, they buried the other people there too… ‘Alî, may Allah be pleased with him, said: May Allah have mercy on Khabbâb, he became a Muslim willingly, immigrated obediently, and lived as a fighter… His faith was tested by his body injuries and his long illness, but Allah does not deprive a good doer from his reward…

He, may Allah be pleased with him, approached their graves and said: Al Salâm ‘Alaykum (Peace on you), O inhabitants of the graves of believers and Muslims… You have preceded us, and we shall follow you -soon-.., O Allah… Forgive them, and trespass our sins and theirs by your forgiveness… For he is lucky who remembers he is returning to Allah, works for the Day of Judgment, is happy with little (that is enough), and regards Allah, Praise and Glory be to Him, in all his life…

[1] Narrated by Imâm Al-Bukâri

[2] As ’Abû Ny‘aim narrated that Â’ishah and ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) said.

[3] As-Suffah: A shaded place in the Mosque of the Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, at Al-Madînah in which poor people (emigrants) used to take shelter.

[4] As ’Abû Dawûd narrated that ’Abû Sa‘id Al Khudrî (may Allah be pleased with him) said

[5] Al Hawd: Lake-Fount (Kauthar).

O Allah.. Grant Khabbâb Victory

Khabbâb Ibn Al ’Arat

May Allah be pleased with him

	O Allah.. Grant Khabbâb Victory Khabbâb Ibn Al ’Arat May Allah be pleased with him
	Back To Main Page Back To Amongst The Prophet’s Companions
	When the Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, was sent, Khabbâb Ibn Al ’Arat was one of the first to believe in this new religion… For he was the sixth man to become a Muslim…The men who became Muslims preferred to keep their Islam as a secret as they feared they would be tortured for that… Only seven of them announced it: Allah’s Prophet Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, ’Abû Bakr As- Siddîq, Suhaib Ibn Sinân, Bilâl Ibn ’Abî Rabâh, Sumayah ’Um (mother) ‘Ammâr Ibn Yâsir, ‘Ammâr Ibn Yâsir and Khabbâb Ibn Al ’Arat… As for Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, he was protected by Allah through his uncle ’Abû Tâlib… ’Abû Bakr As-Siddîq was protected by Allah through his people… As for the rest, they dressed them in steel armor and then they left them to burn in the sun and taste real torture… Khabbâb was from one of the most elite Arab families… He was taken though as a slave in Jâhiliâ (Pre-Islamic time). A woman called ’Um ’Anmâr bought him… He was a sword and armour maker, he used a forge for melting iron… When ’Um ’Anmâr knew that he had become a Muslim, she used to burn his head with the hot melted iron to persuade him to announce Kufr (non-believing) again… He would refuse and insist on his deep faith… The more determined and positive he was, the more torture she forced on him… Khabbâb said: I came to the Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, while he was leaning against his sheet cloak in the shade of the Ka’bah. Then we were suffering greatly from the pagans.. I said (to him): O Prophet of Allah… Will you invoke Allah (to help us)?.. The Prophet’s, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, sat down with a red face and said: “(A believer among) those who were before you was really combed with iron combs so that nothing of his flesh or nerves would remain on his bones; vet that would never make him desert his religion.… A saw might be put over the parting of his head which would be split into two parts, yet all that would never make him abandon his religion. Allah will surely complete this religion (i.e. Islam) so that a traveler from San‘â’ to Hadra-maut will not be afraid of anybody except Allah or the wolf, lest it should harm his sheep… But you do not wait, you are in a hurry to end that”[1] … Khabbâb is patient to the unbearable torture… For the non-believers would go to ’Um ’Anmâr, heat the stones in the forge till it became red, then they would lay it on the ground and drag Khabbâb on it… Nothing would quench it but the flesh of his back… One day, Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, passes by and finds that Khabbâb has been tied down and chained by ’Um ’Anmâr and she stood there at his head cauterizing him with the hot melted iron while he says: There is no god but Allah… There is no god but Allah… Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, sympathized with Khabbâb and held his hands up and prayed: “Oh Allah… Grant Khabbâb victory”… It is only a few days later that ’Um ’Anmâr is sick in her head with severe pain and a headache that makes her howl like dogs do… She finds no cure, and the doctors failed to help her, except by telling her she must be burned in her head… She goes willingly, on her own, to Khabbâb and asks him to heat the iron and burn her head… as she used to burn his!!… Khabbâb is set free at last… Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, brings Khabbâb and Sa‘îd Ibn Zaid -Fâtimah Bint Al Khattâb’s husband, and one of the ten men promised to go to Paradise- together… Khabbâb shares with them their food, he teaches them the Qur’ân and reads with them… ‘Umar Ibn Al Khattâb hears about his sister and her husband becoming Muslims… He goes to them feeling very angry, but when he hears the Qur’ân from Khabbâb, Allah enlightens his heart to Islam and he says: Lead me to Muhammad.. On hearing that, Khabbâb rejoices and says: *Allah*u-Akbar… Allah.. Allah… O ‘Umar, I pray to Allah that you be part of the Prophet’s, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, prayer, for I have heard him yesterday saying: “O Allah… Support Islam by the one you love more of these two, ’Abû Al Hakam Ibn Hishâm and ‘Umar Ibn Al Khattâb”[2]… Time passes, Khabbâb Ibn Al ’Arat immigrates to Al- Madînah and becomes from As-Suffah[3] people… They are the poor people who used to stay in Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, mosque, doing nothing except learning and reading the Qur’ân, praying with Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, and going with him wherever he, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, went… Jibrîl - the honest angel - brings from Heaven these verses: (And keep yourself (O Muhammad, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him,) patiently with those who call on their Lord (i.e. your companions who remember their Lord with glorification, praising in prayers, and other righteous deeds) morning and afternoon, seeking His Face; and let not your eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp and glitter of the life of the world..).(Al-Khaf, “The Cave,28). The Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, wonders about that matter… Whenever he comes out of his room, he Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, sees As-Suffah people dedicated to Al Qur’ân Al Karîm, studying it attentively… He, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, looks at them and says: “Praise be to Allah* who has specified some of Muhammad’s nation for Muhammad to find patience with and amongst them”[4]… From that time, whenever Khabbâb and his friends -from As-Suffah-* were seen by Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, he was welcoming and happy to see them… He would lay down his cloak for them to sit on, and tell them: “Welcome to those that Allah* has asked me to be good to”… Khabbâb was amongst the poor slaves who were mocked by the non-believers… They had asked Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, to stay away from them or to specify for them a particular day and another day for the rich and elite people only… Each group would sit and listen to Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, but separately, as they thought it was not eligible for them to sit with them or feel equal to them… These verses came by Jibrîl: (And turn not away those who invoke their Lord, morning and afternoon seeking His Face. You are accountable for them in nothing, and they are accountable for you in nothing, that you may turn them away, and thus become of the Zâlimûn (unjust). Thus We have tried some of them with others, that they might say: “Is it these (poor believers) whom Allâh has favoured from amongst us?” Does not Allâh know best those who are grateful?). (Al-An‘âm,* “The Cattle”,52-53). Time passes, Khabbâb never stays behind in any of the Prophet’s, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, conquests… He attended Badr, and stood well during ’Uhud… He went through all the conquests … The Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, dies, but Khabbâb continues to be a knight during the day and a monk at night during the Khilafah (ruling time) of ’Abû Bakr As-Siddîq then during the Khilafah (ruling time) of ‘Umar Ibn Al Khattâb… One day, ‘Umar Ibn Al Khattâb tells him: O Khabbâb, tell me how did the non-believers torture you in Makkah …Khabbâb shows ‘Umar his back and says: O ruler of the believers… Look at my back… When ‘Umar looked, he was astonished and said: I have never seen a man’s back like yours till this day -for on his back, there was no flesh-… Khabbâb said: Fire was lit and I was dragged on it, nothing put out the fire except the flesh of my back… Khabbâb falls seriously ill… He remains sick for days and months… He used to say: If Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, had not forbidden us to want to die, I would have prayed for it… His friends go to visit him they find him weeping… They would tell him: Rejoice ’Abû ‘Abdullah… You shall meet with your friends at Al Hawd[5] (the basin -pure drinking water in heaven).. He cries even more to hear that and says: By Allah, I do not weep because I hate death, nor for my love to this life… But you have mentioned some of our deceased brethren who have passed away without receiving any worldly reward… I have been here in this life until I received some worldly reward and I fear that is my reward, but that will not help me when I am laid down in the dust…(He refers to his house which he built in Kûfah)… He then refers to some money that he had kept aside saying: By Allah… I have never been too cautious towards this money, as I have never refrained from giving away any of it to a needing man… Khabbâb is about to meet Allah with a fleshless back, and a body without a spot free from burnt scars, even on his head, yet he continues weeping… He asked that he be buried in Kûfah borders when he dies… He dies when he is 73 (seventy three) years old in the year 37 (thirty seven) of Hijrah… He had started a good habit for the people; that they would bury their lost ones away from their homes… Zaid Ibn Wahb relates about that: We walked with ‘Alî Ibn ’Abî Tâlib when he returned back from Siffîn battle… When we reached Kûfah’s gate, we saw seven graves on our right… ‘Alî said: What are these graves?… They replied: O ruler of the believers… Khabbâb Ibn Al ’Arat died after you have left to Siffîn and asked to be buried in the borders of Kûfah… Before that, people used to bury their lost ones in their yards, and near their entrance doors… When they found that Khabbâb had ordered to be buried near the borders, they buried the other people there too… ‘Alî, may Allah be pleased with him, said: May Allah have mercy on Khabbâb, he became a Muslim willingly, immigrated obediently, and lived as a fighter… His faith was tested by his body injuries and his long illness, but Allah does not deprive a good doer from his reward… He, may Allah be pleased with him, approached their graves and said: Al Salâm ‘Alaykum (Peace on you), O inhabitants of the graves of believers and Muslims… You have preceded us, and we shall follow you -soon-.., O Allah… Forgive them, and trespass our sins and theirs by your forgiveness… For he is lucky who remembers he is returning to Allah, works for the Day of Judgment, is happy with little (that is enough), and regards Allah, Praise and Glory be to Him, in all his life… Back To Main Page Back To Amongst The Prophet’s Companions [1] Narrated by Imâm Al-Bukâri [2] As ’Abû Ny‘aim narrated that Â’ishah and ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) said. [3] As-Suffah: A shaded place in the Mosque of the Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, at Al-Madînah in which poor people (emigrants) used to take shelter. [4] As ’Abû Dawûd narrated that ’Abû Sa‘id Al Khudrî (may Allah be pleased with him) said [5] Al Hawd: Lake-Fount (Kauthar).