Saif Morad – Lessons From The Story of Musab Ibn Umair
AI: Summary ©
AI: Transcript ©
And this individual was truly a unique individual
because of the tremendous
dedication he
had for his religion
and what he ended up accomplishing by dedicating
his life to serving the dean of Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
So Musa'aib bin Umayr, when he was,
in the beginning of Islam,
this was a individual that was known to
be the most charming of Meccans.
He was
as we say, he was spoiled to the
core.
His mom and his his father had pampered
him so much
that he lived a beautiful life of luxury.
He was the talk of the town. Everyone
wanted to be his friend.
All the ladies wanted to get to know
him.
But this individual, he was not a follower,
But he had curiosity.
He was wise.
And that's why he had that respect amongst
his peers.
And when the prophet
first received the message of Islam,
The Quran was sent to him, and the
prophet
was preaching secretly.
And this news actually spread out,
and it became the talk of the town.
It was the thing that everyone wanted to
talk about.
Who is this person? What is this new
message that he's trying to change our religion?
The thing that we've been practicing for 100
of years,
and he wants to make all of the
gods one god. He's telling us to worship
only one god.
And Mus'ab was curious. He's like, you know,
what is this thing about? How can I
learn about it? Why is everyone getting so
worked up over it?
So one day, he happened to go to
Dar al Arkam, and this was the house
where the prophet
would gather and teach his companions about the
Quran.
And Mus'ab went there and he sat with
the prophet
and the prophet
recited some of the verses that were revealed
to him, and this immediately
made his heart
shake. It was so powerful and impactful upon
him.
And this is the impact the Quran has
for the person who goes to the Quran
with an open heart,
with a heart that wants to learn, that
wants to be guided.
And the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam calmed
him down.
And now Musa ibn Umer, he declared his
faith, and he entered into the fold of
Islam,
and he was ready to show his faith
to everyone. Nobody in Mecca could stand to
him except that he would stand with honor
and defend his Islam.
But
the only person that he could not stand
up to was his mother.
Because his mother had a very strong personality
that made people fear her. So he decided
that he was gonna keep his Islam secret.
Because during the beginning of Islam, many of
the prominent Sahaba, the the companions
that had tribes that were backing them were
still
tortured.
So he decided to keep his Islam a
secret.
And then one day, somebody happened to see
him go into the house of,
and they reported this to his mother.
So when Mus'ab came back, his mother was
there,
and his relatives were there, and some of
the notable people from Mecca were standing there
ready to confront him.
And Mus'ab didn't shy away, but he declared
that, yes, I have become Muslim, and he
recited some of the verses that the prophet
taught him. And this is when his mother
got furious, and she struck him.
But being a mother,
Mercy also held her back. So she didn't
continue.
And she told him that if you continue
down this path, I'm gonna cut you off.
And she actually took him and locked him
up in a room,
and she told him that you will not
get what you used to get unless you
renounce your faith.
But look at his faith and his determination.
It wasn't just a decision he made on
a whim, but he fully committed to this
decision.
And then when the companions were given permission
to migrate to, to Ethiopia,
Musa Benjamin Mer, he managed to sneak away
and go.
And then
he came back later on,
and then
he stood in front of his mother once
again.
And his mother told him, wanted to prevent
him once again. And this time with full
determination, he said that anyone you put in
my path will not be able to restrict
me, will not be able to hold me
down. And his mother understood his determination, and
she left him. But look at the compassion
that he had for his mother, and he
told her, oh, my mother,
you know, this is the religion of truth.
This is what you need to follow, so
please believe in it.
But she refused to accept the message of
Islam.
And then later on, the prophet
had appointed Musaab with the greatest task that
he would ever undertake,
which was to be the first ambassador of
Islam.
After the first pledge of Akhaba, when only
about 12 people came and gave the oath
of the deeds to the prophet
they wanted somebody to go back and teach
the people of Madinah the religion. And Madinah
was known as Yathrib at that time.
So the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam chose
Musaab ibn Umayyad,
and he could've he could've chosen some of
the other Sahaba, some of the elders Sahaba.
Perhaps they were more knowledgeable than Musaab,
but he chose Musaab
knowing
what qualities Musaab possess.
So Musaab went to Medina,
and he started teaching the people about Islam,
started calling them towards the worship of 1
god only.
And he was with a man by the
name of Asad ibn Zurar,
And they went to the tribe of Bani
Abdul Ashal,
and they were giving them dawah. They were
inviting them to Islam.
And then suddenly, one of the leaders of
this tribe by the name of Usaid ibn
Khudair, he suddenly happened to come to them.
And he was furious, and he was cursing
them. He was insulting them.
That you're bringing this message and you're you're
teaching the foolish people.
Because anyone who has an intellect will not
listen to what you're talking about.
And many of us, when we give or
we're in this phase and a non Muslim
might be rude towards us, you know, sometimes
we get worked up and wanna retaliate and
some say something equally as bad back to
them.
But Musaab, he had this tremendous calm,
and he told them that why don't you
sit down,
you know, and listen to what I have
to say.
If you like it, that's good. And if
you don't, we'll leave you alone, and no
harm will be done to you.
And said this is something that's reasonable. There's
no harm in it. What am I gonna
lose by listening to what you have to
say?
So he recited the verses of the Quran,
and it shook.
And he said that this is something that
is beautiful.
And anyone who looks at the teachings of
the Quran with an open mind,
not with a biased mind
a biased outlook from the beginning,
with a clean and pure heart, with an
open mind, we'll see the beauty of Islam,
we'll see the beauty of the teachings that
Allah
has sent down,
and he asked that how can I enter
into this religion?
And Mus'ab directed him to go and wash
up and clean himself and then say the
shahada and to pray turakah.
And then Us'ay told him that there is
a man behind me,
Sa'd ibn Wa'ad. He's the leader of the
people.
If he accepts Islam,
then everyone's gonna follow his lead because he
is the leader, the person who has influence
over his people.
So Usaid went back to Saad,
and Saad told the people that this is
a person
who seems like he has changed his ways.
And then Usay told him that I went
to them and I talked to them, and
I didn't see any issue with them, but
you should go and speak to them as
well.
And they will they or perhaps they will
listen to you and leave the people alone.
So, sadly, he goes to
Musa ibn Arneid, and he also insults him
and tells him you're coming and taking advantage
of these people. You know, they have weak
intellect. They don't understand, and you're taking advantage
of this.
You're brainwashing them.
So Mus'ab told him the same thing, that
why don't you sit down, listen to what
I have to say? If you like it,
good, and if you don't, then we'll leave
you alone.
And Saad said, this is reasonable,
And he sat down with
them, and he recited the ayat to Sa'ad,
and Allah
opened the heart of Sa'ad,
and he also accepted the the message of
Islam.
And then he went back to the people,
and he told them that, who am I
to you?
They said that you are a leader, the
most intelligent of us.
And then he said, it is haram upon
me to talk to any one of you
until you accept the message of Islam, until
you believe in Allah and his message.
And then all of these people, the entire
tribe, they accept Islam except one of them.
And the next year, when Musaab took the
delegation back to the prophet
there was about 73 men and 2 women.
And there was no household in Madinah except
that one of them was Ali Islam.
This was the impact that he had.
He laid the groundwork,
and it was time. It was ready. The
tie the time was now
for the Muslims to start migrating to Medina.
And Musa
ibn Umer, he participated in the battle, but
that he was the standard bearer.
And at that time, there was no radios.
There's no walkie talkies. The only way you
knew if you were still in the fight
is if your standard if your flag is
still standing.
So this was a very important task that
he was assigned.
And then after the battle,
his brother, actually, his blood brother was taken
captive.
And Musa passed by him, and he told
them that, you know, ties chains tied because
his mother will pay a heavy sum for
his ransom.
And his brother got upset, and he said,
you're gonna do this to your own blood,
brother?
Musaab said that this,
this person of Nabina,
is my true brother because he is my
brother based on faith.
And he also participated in the battle of
Uhud, where once again he was given the
responsibility of holding on to the standard.
And when the Muslims
initially, they're winning this battle,
and when they disobeyed the command of the
prophet
and Khaled bin Walid, he took advantage of
this and turned the tables around.
And there were very few people standing with
the prophet
Musa'aib bin Umay. He stepped forth and he
called the people to come towards him
because they loved and they valued the life
of the prophet
more than their own lives.
And a man by the name of or
he came and he struck one of the
hands of cutting it off. But yet, Musa,
he grabbed the sandal with its other hand
because he knew that if this flag falls,
he's gonna destroy the morale of the people.
And he recited
the
verse
that
the prophet
is accept a messenger. That's what he is,
a messenger.
Messengers have come and passed away before him.
And then his other arm was cut off
too.
Then you can only imagine that he somehow
managed to still hold the standard up, and
he recited the same verse until finally, he
was struck down.
And then after the battle,
they went and they saw his body,
and he only left one cloth behind.
And this was an individual that he was
the perfume that he used to wear and
he used to pass by an area. People
who came after him will know that Musab
was here just because of the smell that
was left behind.
He would wear the most
luxurious of clothes,
and he was seen later on
wearing clothes that had stitches on them, patches
on them,
and this made the companions cry.
And the prophet
said that Musaab was the most
pampered individual from the but
he gave all of that up for the
sake of Allah and his messenger.
And when he passed away
he only had one sheet left
that did not even cover his entire body.
That when they covered his head,
his feet were shown.
And when they covered his feet, his head
was shown. So the Prophet
said to cover his head and his body
and to cover his feet with lemongrass.
And Allah
revealed the ayah
that from the believers there are people
who were truthful with the covenant they made
with Allah, who were truthful to the promise
that they made with Allah.
That there are individuals who have fulfilled their
contract.
Until they left this world, they were truthful,
and they stood upon that. And there are
people who are still fulfilling that contract. They're
waiting to meet their end while being in
the state of fulfilling this contract,
and they never wavered. They never
nothing shook them.
Nothing made them change their faith.
And this is an individual
who died as a martyr, as a shayid,
and his place is in the highest level
of overdose.
And if you look at his story, there's
so many benefits that we can derive,
but I'd like to point out three things.
The first is the power of choice.
And we, as human beings, every single day,
we are making choices.
We make choices in regards to what we're
gonna do, what we're gonna eat, what we're
gonna drink, what we're gonna watch, what we're
gonna spend our time doing, what we're gonna
hang out with. These are all choices that
we make. No one is forcing us to
do these things, but we have control with
these things and we make these choices.
And the prophet
said
that everyone goes out in the morning.
And there are individuals
who sell themselves to Allah.
They make the right decisions.
They make the choices that are pleasing to
Allah.
And he says,
There are those individuals
who free themselves, and there are those individuals
who destroy themselves
because they choose the wrong thing.
They choose the things that are displeasing to
Allah.
They choose the things that are gonna have
consequences in the end because every choice has
a consequence.
And we have to ask ourselves
when we get up in the morning,
what choices am I gonna make today?
What things am I gonna focus on?
What meaning am I gonna give to my
life?
And if we look at Musaib ibn Umayr,
this individual had
what I consider the three things
that every young person,
not only that, but every person wants,
which is money,
popularity,
and the attention of the the opposite *.
He had all of this.
He had all the money he could imagine.
Everyone wanted to be like Musaab. Everyone wanted
to be his friend.
All the women wanted to marry him.
But Musa ibn Umer, he chose
the truth over this.
And all of these things are actually vehicles
because in our pursuit for wealth,
for fame,
it's not we're chasing that thing, but we're
actually chasing the feeling behind it, the need
that it fulfills when we chase these things.
Because from wealth, we get the sense of
security. You know, we get certainty in our
lives. We get variety. We can utilize this
wealth and do other things that are enjoyable.
With popularity, you know, we fulfill our need
to be important.
Some people have this need, that need to
be really important,
and they choose vehicles to fulfill these needs.
And it creates connection with other individuals.
We all have this need to belong, to
connect with other people, to be to have
to be validated.
But the thing is,
what vehicles do we choose in order to
fulfill these needs?
And this is the area that people struggle.
Now what needs are they putting they're giving
priority to? And at the same time, we
have this need. Our soul has this need
to know Allah, to connect with Allah, to
love Allah, to worship Allah.
And we see in Wussab's story that he
was constantly tested.
You You know, he had the choice between
wealth
and Allah, and he chose Allah.
He was tested again between the relationship with
his mother, his family, and Allah. And he
chose Allah.
And most of us, most people, they don't
realize that they're making these choices.
They're not aware of what needs they're pursuing.
They're not aware of what vehicles they're utilizing
to meet these needs.
And Allah might be important in people's lives,
but maybe it's not the most important thing.
And the thing is when
a person puts Allah first,
when Allah becomes the number one priority,
automatically all these needs are met
because the person is consistently growing. Allah puts
the right people in their lives. He builds
the right relationships for them.
They become loved by the people,
and they get that certainty because they know
that Allah is with them. You know, when
you have this
of Allah,
when Allah is with someone and He's aiding
them and He's helping them and He's giving
them the confidence and the patience to be
able to endure and pursue
and be better.
If Allah gives that to a person as
Allah is with that person, who can touch
this person?
Nobody can do anything to this person. And
we might see the outward
things, the outward the external circumstances
that he lost his parents, you know, they
stopped talking to him, he was wearing shabby
clothes, but we don't know the internal aspect,
you know, how
content he was,
how pleased with he with Allah
that these things were a non factor?
You know, he knew the purpose of his
life.
And when we make a similar decision, we
put Allah
first,
and we get that love of Allah, and
we get
that Ma'i of Allah, that Allah is with
these persons.
And we have to ask ourselves, who are
these individuals
that have this special privilege?
And Allah tells us this in the Quran.
You know, he tells us,
you know he is with those individuals who
observe
and do good.
And we when we read the Quran
we have to ask ourselves.
That is Allah talking about me when he
talks about these people.
Do I have these qualities that Allah loves?
And if I do,
Alhamdulillah.
But if I don't, then how can I
have these qualities?
How can I become like these individuals?
What can I start doing? What can I
change in my life
that will make me amongst these people?
Because if we have Allah, we have everything.
Nothing can stop us. But if we don't
have Allah, and we have everything else,
then the question is what do we really
have?
Because everything is
in the control of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
And there is nothing wrong with a person
pursuing wealth
because wealth is just a vehicle.
But what's the reason behind that pursuit?
And are you are you willing to give
everything up just to meet that need?
Because the problem comes when a person puts
money and fame and all these other things
before Allah. That's when the problem comes.
But if a person's intention is to utilize
these things for the betterment of the ummah,
to help those who are less fortunate,
to take their community to another level
for the sake of Allah
then these are praiseworthy things.
And another lesson we learned from this
is the importance of references in our lives.
You know, because success, it leaves behind
clues.
If you wanna become a physician, not just
a physician, but a physician
who started his own practice and succeeded in
it, then you look for those individuals who
have done it, and you find out what
did they do so that we can replicate
it.
If we wanna be entrepreneurs,
we find these individuals and we see what
was their secret,
what made them successful, and we try to
replicate it.
And at the same time,
if we wanna be those individuals who stand
firm, you know, the examples of those people
who have true faith,
true determination,
We look at the life of this the
companions.
And Musa Abeyin Omer's story, it's such a
strong reference for everyone,
especially the youth,
because it shows the power of that choice
that he made, that determination that he had.
Because when it comes to change, most people
sometimes they're not even thinking about it. They
don't even think that, okay. Maybe, you know,
I need to change my life. I need
to become a better individual. Maybe the decisions
I'm make I'm making is not really serving
me,
but it's not even on their radar that
they need to change.
Some people they're thinking about,
but they're not really committed to it.
And this is for anything. You know? It
can even be for starting a business,
for losing weight, for example.
Some people are not even thinking about Some
people are they're thinking about it, but they're
not really serious about it. Some people might
talk about it,
but there's still no determination behind it.
The power comes when a person
is fully determined and commits to it.
As Allah said to the prophet
When you've reached that state of determination
and you have the emotions behind it and
your body is ready to take action, that's
when you put your trust in Allah because
Allah loves those individuals who depend on it.
And trusting Allah means to take all the
means that a person can.
And they get clarity in what they want,
and they turn their affair over to Allah,
and they take every single mean that they
know of in order to get to that
and knowing that it is Allah
who will make it happen for them.
And for those individuals who accept Islam and
become a revert to Islam,
you know, they are the ones who face
the potential of their family cutting ties off
with them. For those of us who are
born into Islam, we might not face this
threat,
but those individuals
might. And this is a tremendous reference
on how to stand steadfast.
Allah
will put in your life those individuals that
you meet that will be your brothers and
your sisters.
And finally,
from his story, we learned the lesson of
how can I serve this team?
How can I serve my community?
How can I serve the Ummah of the
prophet
The prophet
made him the first ambassador?
And he went and he excelled at this
task.
And we all have different skill sets. Not
every single one of us needs to be
the sheikh, needs to be the speaker, needs
to be the one in the limelight,
but everyone has a skill set that they
can contribute towards. We need people to be
professionals, we need people to be business owners,
we need people to be students of knowledge,
and all these people need to come together
and see that what skill set do I
have or what skill set is needed to
be developed
in order to take the dawah, in order
to take the Muslim communities in the western
part of the world to the next level?
You know, some people are good
in,
in organizational things, in management when it comes
to media relations,
and we need all of these people to
come together.
We need the people of knowledge. We need
the people of influence. We need the people
who have the wealth. We need the people
who understand,
organization
and management and all these people to come
together
in order to put forth something beautiful.
Because many times,
it might not be the person who's speaking
that walks away with the most reward.
If you've ever been to an event and
there's thousands of people there,
you know, and the people, they come and
they listen to the talks and they get
inspired.
And, yes, the people who are who are
talking, they are getting the reward as well,
but the people behind the scenes,
the people who organize this event, because this
is a skill. Not everyone has the capacity
and the ability to do something like this,
and only Allah knows that how much reward
these people walked away with because they were
they were determined.
They wanted good for the people, so they
organized an event of this caliber.
So to end, we ask ourselves certain questions.
Because when we ask ourselves deep questions, this
is what brings forth insight.
And we have to answer them if we
wanna get an we have if we want
change to happen, we have to answer these
questions.
And we look at things that how can
I contribute?
You know, what can I do for my?
What can I do for my community?
What skill set can I develop that is
needed
that will help not only myself individually
in my dunya but that will also help
my community?
You know, how can I
change my decisions?
How can I make better choices?
What things can I focus on?
And not only that, what what meaning can
I give to things?
Because it is very important that we give
positive meanings to things.
Because if we focus only on the negative
things that happen around us, that's all that's
what we're gonna see.
But if we focus on the positive things,
and even during the hard times, we focus
on what's positive here.
Then that will lead us to take positive
action, that will lead us to be grateful
to Allah.
And this makes us understand the hadith of
the prophet
when he said that how strange is the
affair of the believer.
Everything is good, friend.
No matter what happens to him, it's good.
When he is given
when he or she is given, they are
grateful, and that is good for them.
And when something
bad happens to them or something that they
dislike happens to them, they are patient, and
that's also good for them
because they give this
incident a certain meaning that Allah
wants good for me. He wants me to
grow. He wants me to be become better.
He wants me to unlock my full potential,
and to give positive meanings to the things.
And we also ask ourselves, how can I
take more action?
The right kind of action that will move
me towards my goals.
And part of Ihsan is to worship Allah
as if we see him.
And if we can't see him, we can't
get to that level, which we at least
know that Allah is watching us. But there's
a second component to Ihsan,
which is excellence
towards others,
contributing
beyond yourself.
And if you look at Surah Al Asr
towards the end,
Allah swears by time, the importance of time,
how important it is for you to utilize
our time and the things that will benefit
us. And he says
that every single individual,
all of is in loss,
and then he makes the exception.
That those individuals who believe
and this belief
necessitates
action, and they do the righteous actions
For the sake of Allah and in accordance
to the sunnah of the prophet
But these two things,
they benefit the individual.
But there's another level. There's a higher
and they encourage one another
with the truth.
They want other people to benefit,
and they encourage one another to be patient,
to remain steadfast on the path of Allah.
There's gonna be obstacles,
but they come together and they become the
source of strength for each other.
They help one another. They don't tear each
other down, but they uplift one another.
You know, what went wrong this time? Okay.
Let's revise and see how shaitan got the
better of us, how we can become better,
what things do we need to put in
place
in order to take our relationship with Allah
to the next level.
Because
if even one person
is guided through us, is impacted by us,
changes their way because
of what we did for them, then the
prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam told Ali that
that is better for you
than the red camel, the most precious
camel of that time.
So may Allah
make us amongst those individuals
who remain firm and steadfast upon the path
of Allah
and who make the
decisions that get them closer to Allah and
who make the decisions that will make Allah
be with them and will give them the
strength and make us may Allah make us
amongst those individuals
who are a benefit to society so so
that when we come on Yom Al Qiyama,
we're standing in front of Allah
we have all these deeds that we never
really did,
but because we helped, we participated,
we influenced others, Allah
out of His infinite mercy, He will give
us these extra deeds.