Abdul Rahman Chao - 2-23-24

When the Muslims left Mecca and migrated and moved to Madinah it was not an easy process. It was after 13 years of intense persecution, torture, suffering, killing, harassment, starvation. And almost you could say all with a few.

There were a few exceptions but the majority of people when they left Mecca they lost something. They had lost a friend. They had lost family. They had lost wealth. But perhaps one of the most prominent stories of loss during the hijrah was none other than the daughter of Muhammad ﷺ, Zaynab.

The Assault on Zaynab

So as she was getting ready to leave, to go to Madinah, some people from the Quraish and from Mecca came and attacked her. And they assaulted her. And she was sitting on top of the camel in the hodaj. And they tried to assault her and some of them actually did.

In fact there was a man, an evil man at that time. He took his lance and he purposefully poked her from the back and caused Zaynab bint Muhammad رضي الله تعالى عنها to fall off her camel. And what's worse was that she was pregnant.

And because of that assault she had a miscarriage. I want you to think about this. The daughter of the Prophet ﷺ suffering a miscarriage from an assault. The grandchild of the Prophet ﷺ. And she fell and she sustained such severe injuries on top of her miscarriage and her loss. That even after she went to Madinah years later she was still enduring the lingering effects of that fall. That she passed away from it.

Habbar's Repentance and the Prophet's Forgiveness

The Prophet ﷺ was so upset because this man had a Habbar bin al-Aswad he had such a history of harming Muslims the Prophet ﷺ said if he should ever be apprehended he is an open target. Like he may be executed for his crimes. But it wasn't until after the conquest of Mecca that this man, Habbar came to the Prophet ﷺ.

In fact some of the companions because of what he did they used to insult him. And the Prophet ﷺ even forbade that. And he said, سَبَّ مَن سَبَّك - insult only those who have insulted you. And then they stopped.

And so one day Habbar enters Madinah and he comes through the door and the companions say "Messenger of Allah, it's Habbar bin al-Aswad." The Prophet ﷺ says قَدْ رَأَيْتُهُ - "I have seen him." And a man stands up you could say to confront him to make sure that he doesn't try to harm the Prophet ﷺ. And the Prophet ﷺ said, "Sit down."

And so Habbar bin al-Aswad said "Messenger of Allah" he said, السلام عليك يا نبي الله - "Peace be upon you O Messenger of Allah, O Prophet of Allah." فَإِنِّي أَشْهَدُ أَن لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللهِ - "I testify that there is no God worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger."

And then he apologizes for what he has done. And he says, "I have done many things because of my ignorance and because of the mercy of Allah He has guided us through you and saved us from destruction." And he says, "and I recalled how forgiving you are O Messenger of Allah." So he says, فَاصْفَحْ عَنْ جَهْلِي وَعَمَّا كَانَ يَبْلُغُكَ عَنِّي فَإِنِّي مُقِرٌّ بِسُوءِ فِعْلِي مُعْتَرِفٌ بِذَنْبِي - "Forgive me for my ignorance and what has reached you about me. For I confess and I admit to my evil deed."

So he knows what he has done. مُعْتَرِفٌ بِذَنْبِي - "And I admit to the sins that I have done." The Prophet ﷺ when he heard this, he says, قَدْ عَفَوْتُ عَنْكَ - "I have forgiven you. For indeed Allah has guided you to Islam and Islam forgives everything that comes from before it."

The Prophetic Example of Forgiveness

Brothers and sisters, this story from the life of the Prophet ﷺ teaches us of the value and the importance of admitting your mistake, apologizing for your mistake, but more importantly to accept the apologies from other people who have wronged you.

The Prophet ﷺ was assaulted and mocked and harmed by so many people. And in the conquest of Mecca, what did he say to the people? اِذْهَبُوا فَأَنْتُمُ الطُّلَقَاءُ - "Go all of you for you are forgiven."

And normally when people of power come and conquer another place, they will take the inhabitants of that city, and they will debase them, they will humiliate them, and they will show them who's in charge. But no, the Prophet ﷺ came with forgiveness and he accepted the apologies of the people.

Allah's Guidance on Forgiveness

Allah teaches us about the importance of accepting people's apologies. And he says:

"Rush forward to the forgiveness of your Lord. And the paradise is so wide like the heavens and the earth, prepared for the God-fearing people. These are the people who donate in times of ease and in times of hardship, and they suppress their anger, and they forgive other people. And Allah loves those who do good."

Allah also tells us in another verse regarding lex talionis, retribution law:

"If someone is to do harm to you, like eye for an eye, life for a life, then that is one option. But then Allah tells us the better option. Then whoever forgives and reconciles, then their reward is with Allah. Allah does not like those who are oppressed."

Why? Because there are people, when you go and apologize to them, they want to make an example out of you. They want to humiliate you. They want you to bow to them and kiss their feet. And Islam came to limit the scope of that kind of retribution.

The Prophet ﷺ teaches us to forgive, and he says once to a companion who was walking with him: صِلْ مَنْ قَطَعَكَ وَأَعْطِ مَنْ حَرَمَكَ وَاعْفُ عَمَّنْ ظَلَمَكَ - "Connect with those who cut you off, and give to those who withhold from you. And forgive those who have oppressed you."

The Example of Abu Bakr and Aisha

It is not easy to forgive. No one said that it is obligatory to forgive, but it is better to forgive. And during the time of the Prophet ﷺ, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ was accused of adultery, Aisha رضي الله عنها. And Allah سبحانه وتعالى sent down a verse to declare her innocence.

And one of the people of Medina who had circulated this rumor was none other than Mistah Bin Uthafa, the cousin of Aisha رضي الله عنها. And Abu Bakr, her father, knew that Mistah was poor, and that he needed wealth and financial assistance. And when Abu Bakr heard this, like how dare he spread a rumor about his own cousin, about my daughter, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ was pained hearing this kind of rumor. Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه, he says, "I will surely cut him off financially."

And then Allah سبحانه وتعالى revealed a verse saying:

"Do you not love that Allah should forgive you? For verily Allah is all forgiving." Allah سبحانه وتعالى is teaching us the importance of having empathy even towards those who have wronged you. So here Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه says, he felt that empathy, "I want Allah to forgive me, so therefore I shall forgive."

The Dispute Between Abu Bakr and Umar

Finally brothers and sisters, to encapsulate and to drive home the meaning of accepting apologies. Abu Bakr and Umar once got into an argument, a very serious argument. In fact Abu Bakr had said many unfortunate things to Umar that he confessed to.

Umar was so angry with Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه that he got up and he left. Abu Bakr quickly realizing that he was in the wrong, he ran after Umar رضي الله عنه and chased him all the way to his house and knocked on his door. Umar opens the door, sees Abu Bakr and slams the door in his face.

Now Abu Bakr is so concerned, he rushes to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and he's coming in agitated and anxious, lifting his garments up. And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم knew that something had happened. And remember Abu Bakr is the one who had said some things to Umar.

Umar bin Khattab realizes and he thinks "Abu Bakr came to apologize, I slammed the door in his face, this is not good." So he goes and looks for Abu Bakr at his house. Abu Bakr is not there, so now he is officially worried. He's like, "Oh Abu Bakr might have gone to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم."

So now Umar comes to the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم and when he gets there, Abu Bakr is already sitting there. And Abu Bakr had already been fair and he said, "Messenger of Allah, I had said things that I was wrong, I was the one who said these things to Umar."

When Umar walks in, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم looks at Umar in a very angry way and Umar knew something was up. And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم says, "Verily Allah has sent me to the people. And when all of the people said, we disbelieve in you, this man Abu Bakr said, I believe in you. He has supported me with his wealth and himself like none other."

And as the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is saying this, Abu Bakr is saying, "Ya Rasulullah, it is I, it is I, who upset Umar, not him." He's trying to calm the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم down.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم he says, فَهَلْ أَنْتُمْ تَارِكُو لِي صَاحِبِي - "Are you not going to leave my friend alone?" Now the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم wasn't siding with Abu Bakr against Umar about the dispute between him and Umar.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was angry that Umar was hesitating in forgiving Abu Bakr, and dragging it on. What the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was trying to tell Umar is, when the people hesitated in believing in me as the Messenger of Allah, Abu Bakr did not hesitate in believing in me. So do not hesitate in believing in him when he says that he is sorry. Do not hesitate and forgive him swiftly.

And ever since then, Abu Bakr, no one had an argument with Abu Bakr anymore. Because they realized the love that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had.