Those Promised Paradise: Stories of the Sahabah

255 Pages·2012·7.382 MB·English

by  Noura Durkee

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Stories ofthe
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Adapted by I
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Noura Durkee
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~1QRA'
International Educational Foundation
Chicago
Part of IQRA's Comprehensive and Systematic
Program of Islamic Studies
Stories of the Sahabah: Volume I
Those rp,.omised CParadise
Program of Social Studies
Junior Level Religious Review
Shaikh Abdool Rahman Khan
BA University of Madinah
Chief Program Editors Maulana Obaidullah Saleem
Fadil. Dar ul-Ulurn, Deoband
Dr. Abidullah ai-Ansari Ghazi
Ph.D., History of Religion
Translators

Harvard University
Dr. Muhammad Fadel

Tasneema Khatoon Ghazi
Ph.D., University of Chicago
Ph.D., Curriculum-Reading
University of Minnesota Maulana Abdur-Rahrnan

Sayeed Siddiqui

Editors
Huda Ouraishi-Ahmed
B.Sc., University of Illinois, Chicago
Heidi Liddle
M.A., University of Arkansas
Designer
Copyright © April 1999, lORA' International
Kathryn Heimberger
Educational Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
American Academy of Art
Special note on copyright: Cover Illustration
This book is a part of lORA's comprehensive Sharon K. Jaman
and systematic program of Islamic Education. Carnegie-Mellon University
No part of this book may be reproduced by
any means including photocopying, electronic,
mechanical, recording, or otherwise without
the written consent of the publisher. In specific
cases, permission is granted on written request
to publish or translate lORA's works.
For information regarding permission, write to:
IQRA' International Educational Foundation,
7450 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, IL 60077
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.iqra.org
Library of Congress Catalog Number 98-88209
ISBN 1-56316-374-8
.!Por Margarette-

On whose date ofbirth, September 18, 1995,

I began this project.
'fable ofContents

~
IQRA's Note • vii

Introduction • xi

'Abd ar-Rahmdn Ibn 'Awj· 15

'Abdullah Ibn Salam • 29

Abu Bakr As-Siddiq • 37

Abu 'Ubaidah Ibn al-Jarrdn • 53

'A'ishah bint Abu Bakr • 61

r
'All Ibn Abi iilib • 79

'Ammdr Ibn Ydsir • 97

Barakah (UmmAiman) ·103

Bildl Ibn Rabdk • 113

Fiuimab Bint Muhammad ·123

Hamzah Ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib ·131

r
Ja'far Ibn Abi 'dlib 147

»
Khadijah Bin Al-Khuwailid • 163

Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqa~ • 173

Salman al-Fiirsi 183

»
ralJ:tah Ibn 'Ubaidulldh At-Tayyim ·193

Thdbit Ibn Qais Al-Ansari • 203

'Umar Ibn al-Kha.~tab • 213

Uthmiin Ibn 'Affan • 229

Zaid Ibn 'Amr and Sa'id Ibn Zaid» 241

Az-Zubair Ibn Al-'Awwam • 249

Appendix • 259
IQcfk1's JVote

I QRA' International is pleased to offer Those
Promised Paradise, the first volume in a series of
Stories of the Sahabah adapted by NOUTa Durkee.
The volume contains the biographies of twenty­
one intimate Saluiban of Rasulullah ~ who were
promised Jannah through various traditions of the
Prophet~.
A more famous lfadith on this subject promises
Jannah to ten Sahdbah. popularly known as al-'Ashrah
al-Mubashshirah:
'Abd ar-Rahman bin 'Awf ~ reported the Messenger
of Allah ~ as saying: "Abu Bakr will go to
Paradise,'Umar will go to Paradise, 'Uthman will go
to Paradise, 'Ali will go to Paradise, Talhah will go to
Paradise, Zubair will go to Paradise, 'Abd ar-Rahman
bin 'Awf will go to Paradise, Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas,
Sa'id bin Zaid will go to Paradise, and Abu 'Ubaidah
bin al-Jarrah will go to Paradise."
at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah
There are other traditions which mention the name of
other Sahdban and Sahabiyiit who were promised Jannah
in their lifetime or soon after their death. We believe all
the Sahdban of Rasiilullah ~ will enter Jannah; here we
include those chosen ones who heard the good news
from the Prophet ~.
As all those chosen Sahdbah. included in this vol­
I'll
ume are special people, and we have listed their names
in alphabetical order. We cannot prefer one over the
other, as all of them are very dear to us.
Ib
This generation of Rasulullahs companions
followed him in his life and carried the torch of Islam
Ib
after his death. When describing them, Rasiilullah
remarked: "The best generation is mine; then those who
will follow; then those who will follow" ($a~iI:z Muslim
Ib
6159). He also said: "Do not abuse my companions,
for if anyone of you spend gold equal to Uhud (in
Allah's Cause), it would not be equal to a portion or
even a half a portion spend by one of them" (Sal:zi~ al­
Ib
Bukhdri 5:22). Rasulullah continued to extol the
virtues of his Sahabah throughout his life. This particu­
lar volume describes the lives of those who were fortu­
nate to be given the good tiding of entering the Jannah
during their lives.
Ib
The companions of the Messenger were not
educated in a formal school setting, nor did they receive
training in an organized institution. The tradition main­
/!:.,
tains that Prophet Muhammad himself, was not for­
/!:.
mally educated. Rasulullah received all his knowl­
edge from Allah c;i~ through revelation. The Sahdbah, in
turn, received all their knowledge from the Messenger
lb. The comprehensive way of life that Islam prescribes
owes to one source person: Muhammad lb. How that
message was received through Wa~l-communicated
and taught to create the most profound generation of the
l/lll
Sahdbah-s-is an historical miracle.
Throughout their lives, the Sahdbali firmly stood
!b
with Rastilullah through all his ordeals, never aban­
doning him for personal gain. Even during the worst tri­
als, they strove to safeguard the Messenger ~ and his
message. They exhibited their love of the Prophet ~ by
following his Sunnah (ways and instructions), preserving
the teachings of the Qur'an and the Sunnah during his
life and continuing it after his death.
Among all the prophets and teachers of the
ancient past, Rasiilullah ~ is the only person whose life,
teachings, and actions have been fully recorded and pre­
served. His life is free of mythology and based upon
historical facts. The example of the Sahdbali and their
determination to reflect the moral lifestyle of the
Prophet ~ has continued to guide millions of Muslims
throughout the world.
The Stories of the Sahdbali Series presents the
lives of the Sahdban for both younger generations of
Muslims and the general public and offers the biogra­
phies of these role models who are only next to the
Messenger ~ in their importance in Islam. The biogra­
phies have been adapted by Noura Durkee from Arabic
and Urdu sources in translation, and she has been able to
convey these stories in an engaging and comprehensive
way.
May Allah ;i~ reward all the authors whose works
we have referenced: Abd ur-Rahman Basha, Suwar min
lX
Hdyat as-Sahdbah; Muhammad ad-Dawlah, Qasas min
Haydt as-Sahdbah; Talib Hashmi, Rasulullah kay Chalis
Jan-nisar; Khalid Muhammad Khalid, Rijdl lfawla
Rasiilullah.
To the readers of this book, we ask that you
remember all of us in your Du'a and continue to support
IQRA's educational mission.
Chief Editors, IQRA' International
7450 Skokie Boulevard, Skokie, IL 60077
Friday. 8 January 1999
Jum'ah, 21 Ramadan 1419
x
Introduction
"The dwellers ofParadise are three: One
who wields authority and isjust andfair,
one who is truthful and has been
endowed with power to do good deeds,
and the person who is merciful and
kind-hearted towards his relatises and to
el'ery pious Muslim, one who does not
withhold his hand in spite ofbasinga
largefamily to support."
- f{~ulullah ~
Muslim
' I ~

he Prophet said at various times that "he
could not guarantee anyone's future, since
Paradise, the Jannah, was from the grace of
Allah oi!~ only. Even so, from time to time he would
mention that he had seen in a vision or a dream some­
one, or a house built for someone, in Paradise. On other
occasions he told one or another of his sahdbah. that they
were promised the Jannah. Those who received this
good news were held in deep respect by others, and their
actions and worship became known as exemplary. They
Xl
are models for us all-both men and women, young and
old.
In this book, the first of our Sahabah series, we
have chosen to present the life stories of those blessed
few who were promised the Jannah in their lifetime.
There may even have been others. For example, the
martyrs, women who died in childbirth, and couples who
could raise two or more righteous daughters were gener­
ally promised paradise also. However, those discussed in
this book have come down to us clearly. They include
fb
many of Rasulullahs closest sahdbah and loved
ones. These are people who have been praised so highly
that words like 'noble,' 'honorable,' 'brave,' righteous,'
and so forth take on new meaning when applied to them.
So, we have chosen to tell their stories simply, without
too many adjectives, hoping and trusting that some of
their beauty and grandeur will touch your hearts. All of
fb
them are, as Rasulullah said, like stars, each worthy
to be followed. They are examples of the best of human­
ity, the true super heroes without magical powers or
space-age technology.
We will meet few people like them in our
lifetime, but we may refer to these Sah.dbah ~ as
living examples of the Light of Islam. As Rasulullah
fb
said,
The stars are a source of security for the sky and
when the stars disappear there comes to the sky the
same fate as it has been promised, that it will plunge
xzz