Enemy Commander Converted in Three Days

In the sixth year after Hijrah year six after Hijrah on the 10th of Muharram, so at the very beginning of the year our prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasallam chose a companion a man by the name of Muhammad ibn Maslamah and he made him the commander over a battalion of troops that he sent to quell some rebellious some rebellious tribes in al-Yamamah in the area of Najd. We know Najd so Najd in the Arabic language, it's not just Najd that is the area or town it's actually a major city in Saudi now. It's called Najd that area or that county, if you will, that is just a portion of Najd in the time of the prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasallam.

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Is an area that is a raised high elevation area in the Arab Peninsula that stretches all the way from the borders of Yemen all the way up to the borders of Iraq. This whole area is referred to as Najd. And so there is a northern Najd and there's a southern Najd. The prophet in this particular incident sent Muhammad ibn Maslamah with a battalion of troops to go and quell some of the rebellion of the tribes of Bani Bakr out there in the area of Al-Yamamah. So it is southern Najd. Al-Yamamah is around the close to the borders of Yemen. Do we remember Al-Yamamah? Have we ever heard of that before? Al-Yamamah. Who is from Al-Yamamah? Which character is from Al-Yamamah? Huh? Musaylimah al-Kazzab. He's from Al-Yamamah, right? And he used to refer to himself as Rahman of Al-Yamamah. So this is before the emergence of the false prophet known as Musaylimah al-Kazzab. He emerged in the 10th year after Hijrah. He's got a very interesting story as well that one day we will discuss. So he sends this battalion of troops out there and.

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Successful. And they took a man into custody, and this man's name was Thumāma ibn Uthal. Thumāma is not just any guy. This was a major chieftain of Banu Hanifa. And this was a huge breakthrough for the Muslim mean. Why? Because it's not just the leverage that they have with respect to Thumāma. That's one aspect, but most of the grains, you know, wheat, barley, these things, those grains would come up from Al Yaman through Banu Hanifa. They were the importers of those things. So, they were the ones that controlled this this delivery system, if you will, over the years to get these grains up into the northern regions of the Arab Peninsula. So, they controlled a lot. As a matter of fact, Banu Hanifa could cause a famine all on their own, and they have before. And so, this was instrumental. Banu Hanifa were very close with the people of Mecca, the chieftains of Mecca. They were thick as thieves, as they say. And in some narrations, it's mentioned that Thumāma was intending to swing by Al Madinah on his way to Mecca, you know, as a kind of side quest to kill the prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. These were his intentions. Initially, he wanted to go for Umrah. Remember, this is in the month of Muharram. It's one of the holy months, one of the sacred ones. But he had other intentions as well. And so when Muhammad ibn Maslamah and his troops took Thumamah, they brought him back to Medina with them. And they tied him to one of the pillars in the masjid. And why did they do this? This is a prisoner of war. And he is also you know, they didn't have jail cells, they didn't have a place to put him. The Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasallam instructed that he be tied to one of the pillars in the masjid. And so he was. And Sahih al-Bukhari Abdullah ibn Yusuf narrates that al-Layth Abu Hurayrah tells us that when Thumamah was tied to the sariya there, the ustuwana in the masjid, the Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasallam came to him. And he said to him, What do you have to say for yourself? What What are we going to do here? Basically, and I'm paraphrasing the spirit of what he said, right? What are we going to do here? And so Thumamah said,.

[Silence]

He said, "If you kill me, if you want to shed my blood, my blood is not cheap. I have men that will avenge me. And if you want to forgive me, overlook, release me, then you will release someone that will show appreciation in the future. I'll owe you. And if you want money, ask whatever price you want. So, the prophet Sallallahu alaihi wasallam left him there. Left him tied to the pillar. Everybody went home. Thumamah is in the masjid tied up. The next day, the prophet Sallallahu alaihi wasallam came to him again, same time. He said, "Ma indak ya Thumamah?" What are we going to do here, Thumamah? He said, "Kama qultu laka in tun'im tun'im ala shakir. Lahazul lafz. Haza lafz al-Bukhari. Al-ula.

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Allah. Arafa anna ha'ula' laysu ashab intiqam fi abath.

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Hazul ashab afw. You know, he changed his tune a little bit. The first day, he mentioned three things. You want to kill me, don't think that that's going to go unnoticed. My men, my people are going to come for you. They're not going to let that go. But if you forgive me, you'll forgive someone who owes you, someone that will thank you. And if you want money, ask me whatever price you want. And so, the next day, his tune changed a little bit. He only said, "I said yesterday, if you forgive me, you will forgive someone or if you forgive, you will forgive someone who will be thankful. He only mentioned that part. Now, notice, why is he being tied in the masjid? Are there not other places to keep prisoners of war? Were all prisoners of war tied in the masjid? No. This is a very rare instance. Prisoners of war are usually given into slave slavery. When prisoners of war are taken, they're distributed with the spoils of war. They are considered property. And they're distributed and they have masters now. Whoever was in that battle, soldiers, horsemen, whatever it is, they will get a portion of that and prisoners of war are of that portion. So, each person is watching that prisoner and second of all, each person is being benefited by that prisoner. They are doing something. They are a slave now. They work, they cook, they teach, right? If they have skills, they're not just sitting in a prison rotting. And so, this is a very specific instance where he had him tied in the masjid. Because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam,.

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Allah tells the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam that if one of the mushrikeen seeks sanctuary with you, then grant him sanctuary up until he hears the words of Allah. Meaning until the message of Islam breaks through to them, you get through the propaganda, you get through the misinformation, you punch through the lies, you punch through the ego until you get through all of that. When someone comes to you for a favor, they are in a vulnerable position. Is it manipulative? Listen to the question. Is it manipulative that if someone comes to you in need that you take that opportunity being that they are in a vulnerable position and you are in a position of power over them to use that as leverage to teach them about Islam. Is that manipulative? What is it? Am I manipulating you right now with my words? OF COURSE I AM. ALL OF US ARE MANIPULATORS. That's how we deal with each other. But when we say the word manipulation, it usually has negative connotations. It's usually manipulation for nefarious purposes. But yes, it is manipulative. That's okay. You manipulate the situation for the person's own good. Yusuf alayhis salaam, the prisoners came to him. They said Tell us, I had a dream about this, I had a dream about that. What did he say to them? He said before that, let me tell you about this. And he gave them an entire set of verses regarding the oneness of Allah, the worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Was he using and leveraging the situation and leveraging their need and their their their vulnerability in order to get the message of Islam through to them? Absolutely, he was. When I sit with my child and I say, "Listen, man. Okay, I know you want this piece of candy. If you leave this now, we'll do this over here." Am I not manipulating my child? I am. I am manipulating him, but I am manipulating him for his good, for his welfare. Human beings, naturally, are social creatures. And we manipulate each other in the way that we speak, the words that we choose, the tone that we have, the the body language, our posturing, what we say, what we don't say. But manipulating for nefarious purposes, that is something the prophets and messengers are free from. And so, the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam understands that Thumamah is a person that has been absolutely stuffed full of propaganda. All of the enemies of Islam have bent this man's ear for years, for 10, 15 years, charging him up and gassing him up against Islam. But most of what he says, most it's all lies. It's not real. So, the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam wanted to break through that propaganda. What is the best way to do that? It is very rare that you can change something with your words. This is super rare. You know in the movies, something happens, and then one of the characters stands up, and he gives this very heartfelt speech, and then everything changes. That's not how the real world world works. Very few people will be influenced by words alone. Actions are what change people's perspective. When they see things, they have to experience these things. Right? And so he left him for a second day. He came back the third day. He's softening him up. Imagine being tied to a pillar. What did he see during that time? While he was in the masjid. I mean, for me if you told me, "Hey, if you want to go back and be in Thumamah's place, you're going to be tied to a pillar for 3 days and then you die after that." I'll take that deal right now. I'd take that deal. Would you take that deal? I mean, that would be a great deal, right? What was he able to do during that time? He sat there. He listened to salah. He listened to the Quran. He listened to the companions. He watched them. They watched them deal with each other. He was there in the depths of night hearing footsteps of companions coming at night time to pray. He was listening to people making their dua. He was watching for 3 days. And so on the third day he came and he asked him the same thing. "Ma taqulu ya Thumamah? Ma indak ya Thumamah?" So, he said, "Kama qultu laka." This time he just says as I told you before. So, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said, "Atliqu Thumamah." Let him go. So, they let him go. And immediately he went insarafa ila an-najlin qaribin min al-masjid. An-najlin aish an-najlin? An-najlin manba'un lil ma' tabiyi yukhrijul ma'i min al-ardh hayk. Hatha ismuhu najlin.

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Bustan. Bustan al-ashjar an-nakhl. Faghtasala.

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When they let Thumamah go, he went to a spring very close to the masjid in an in an orchard, and he bathed, and then he came back to the masjid, and he said to the prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, "I testify that none is rightfully worshipped but Allah, and that you are the messenger of Allah." Notice, he went and bathed. Where did he learn that from? He's sitting in the masjid. This is the kind of things the companions are learning in the masjid. He didn't have to be told. He immediately went cuz he understands. You become Muslim, you bathe. This is how it works. And so, he said to the prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam,.

[Silence]

He said, "Your face was previously the most repulsive face to me. I hated it the most. And now I love no face more than yours. And your religion was the repulsive religion to me. And now your religion is the most beloved religion to me. And your city was the most repulsive city to me. And it has now become the most beloved of cities to me. Now notice Thumamah, he could have said that before that he wanted to become Muslim, right? And they would have let him go. But no, he waited until they let him go on his own. Look at that precedence. Look at that izzat e nafs that he had. So that he would not be confused with someone who is accepting Islam out of desperation. And so he then said to the prophet He said, "I was going to Umrah when I was picked up by your troops. What should I do?".

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Look at how strategic this became. When he went to Mecca, they started making fun of him. Now this is not a regular guy. You can't just throw him around. You can't step on his toes. This is a chieftain. He has thousands of armed men ready to die at his feet to defend his honor. And so, they kind of passively aggressively kind of start poking fun of him. They said, "Asabota?" Asab it in the language of the people of Mecca, the Kuffar of Mecca at the time meant that you abandoned the way of your forefathers and you let your ancestors down. That's what Asabota means. And he said, "No. I accepted Islam with Muhammad the messenger of Allah. And not only that, but you all will not receive one grain until Muhammad allows it." And he prohibited any importation of grain into the entirety of Mecca as abandoning with the prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And he was absolutely strategic in the conquest of Mecca because what year was the conquest of Mecca? Seven after Hijra. Some mention eight after Hijra. It happened right on the heels of the Islam of Thumamah. And not only that, but in Hurub al-Ridda, during the battle of al-Yamamah between Musaylimah and Khalid ibn al-Walid, Thumamah was instrumental in the conquest of al-Yamamah and the reopening of al-Yamamah. It's almost, you could say, it couldn't have been done without Thumamah. Radiyallahu anhu. And he exhibited extreme bravery during the battles and Hurub of al-Ridda after the prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasallam's death. Nas'al Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala.

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Oh, yeah.