There once stood an army of 310 men in the middle of a desert, barely equipped with artillery. With such limited supplies and only 2 horses and 70 camels that could only carry men alternatively, even a fool would have said that victory for them against the enemy was a far-fetched idea.
Fierce and thirsty for punishing the muslims for destroying the age old tradition of idol worship of their forefathers, a troop of a 1000 men galloped forward towards Madinah. 600 of them were plated with armor and a 100 of them had horses. They marched forward tirelessy with a smirk on their faces, eager to cause havoc and bloodshed in Madinah where the believers now resided, knowing that victory for them was certain.
The only thing that stood between them and the women and children in Madinah were the 310.
And at the head of these men stood the commander, our Prophet Muhammed Sallalahu Alayhi Wa Salam (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him).
Knowing that he was responsible for every man that stood there, every father of a child, every son of a father, every man who had nothing in Madinah to sustain his family except himself, the Prophet was anxious to know whether the men were ready to fight. The Prophet knew how precious these lives were, for these men were the only light that could have kept the message of Islam ablaze and alive at that time, their death would leave no true and strong believer behind who would worship Allah. They had the option to discard the fight.
Eager to know what was in their mind, the Prophet, the wisest and the most noble of men whom Allah Azza wa Jal (All-Mighty and Majestic) had chosen to lead mankind to righteousness, who only had to say a word and the men would have rushed forward to fight, such a man instead exclaimed:
“Advise me my men!”
A warrior from amongst them stood up and uttered words that shall never be forgotten, words that should remain etched in our hearts forever.
He said:
“O Prophet of Allah! We believe in you and we bear witness to what you have vouchsafed to us and we declare in unequivocal terms that what you have brought is the Truth. We give you our firm pledge of obedience and sacrifice. We will obey you most willingly in whatever you command us, and by Allah, Who has sent you with the Truth, if you were to ask us to plunge into the sea, we will do that most readily and not a man of us will stay behind. We do not grudge the idea of encounter with the enemy. We are experienced in war and we are trustworthy in combat. We hope that Allah will show you through our hands those deeds of valour which will please your eyes. Kindly lead us to the battlefield in the Name of Allah.”
The name of that man was Sa’ad bin Mu’adh RadhiaAllahuAnhu (May Allah be pleased with him).
Such were the 310. They were the real heroes. And Allah made them victorious.
The time we live in today is no different than the one that has gone by. If not in the middle of battle against an army thrice the size of our side, we face our own problems in the different walks of life that produce difficulties we think render all odds of winning against us.
The Salaf us Saaleh (righteous predecessors) showed in their courage that the rules of this world do not apply to the one Who made them. That it is not the level of difficulty of the circumstance we live in that decides the end result, but rather it is Only Allah Who makes all the Decisions because He alone is in total Control and their is nothing beyond His Power.
Nothing is impossible for Allah Subhanu wa Ta’la (Glory be to Him the Most High).
They did not succumb to rationale. Rather their submission, absolute commitment and faith was in the unquestionable obedience to the commands of Allah and His Messenger, and that for them submerged logic itself.
We need to remember that when we are on the side Allah Subhanu wa Ta’la and His Messenger Sallahu Alayhi wa Sallam and in their obedience, then no matter how gigantic in size and numerous in number the problems we face may be and how small we may feel in front of them, those numbers will remain just numbers.
May Allah Subhanu wa Ta’la have Mercy upon the souls of the 310 and enable us to become like them.
Written by Jibran Asif Shareef
Footnotes:
This article was made using a renowned biography of the life of Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alayhi wa Sallam called:
The Sealed Nectar – by Saif-ur-Rahman Al Mubarakpuri
Click on the link above to download it and study the brilliant life of the Prophet Sallalhu Alayhi wa Sallam yourself.