(Friday Sermon - November 23, 2018 )

Background and Martyrdom

Hazrat Mahja^(ra) was the slave of Hazrat Umar^(ra). His father’s name was Saleh. He was the first martyr of the Battle of Badr. He came from Yemen. Previously he had been brought to Hazrat Umar^(ra) as a prisoner. At that time, Hazrat Umar^(ra) freed him out of kindness. He was from among the early companions who had migrated to Medina. He participated in the Battle of Badr, and as mentioned before, he had the honour of being the first martyr of the Muslim army. He was standing among the ranks when a stray arrow hit him and as a result of this he was killed. It was the arrow of Aamir bin Hazrami, which martyred him. It is narrated by Hazrat Saeed bin Musayyib that when Hazrat Mahja was martyred, he was reciting the following words:

اَنَا مَھجع وَاِلیَ رَبِّی اَرْجِعُ

“I am Mahja, and to my Lord, I am returning.”

Hazrat Mahja^(ra) was among the people, regarding whom the following verse was revealed:

وَلَا تَطۡرُدِ ٱلَّذِینَ یَدۡعُونَ رَبَّہُم بِٱلۡغَدٰوۃِ وَٱلۡعَشِىِّ یُرِیدُونَ وَجۡہَہُ

“And drive not away those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, seeking His countenance.” (Surah al-An‘am, Ch.6: V.53)

Apart from him, the following companions were also included in this; Hazrat Bilal^(ra), Hazrat Suhaib^(ra), Hazrat Ammar^(ra), Hazrat Khabbab^(ra), Hazrat Utbah^(ra) bin Ghazwan, Hazrat Aus^(ra) bin Khauli and Hazrat Aamir^(ra) bin Fuhaira. (Al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra Li-ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, pp. 299-300, Mahja bin Saleh, Dar-ul-Kutub Al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1990) (Usdul Ghaba Fi Marifati Al-Sahaba, Vol. 5, p. 268, Mahja, Dar-ul-Kutub Al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2003) (Kanz Al-Ummal, Vol. 10, p.408, Kitab Al-Ghazwat, Hadith 29985, Mu’assisah Al-Risalah, Beirut, 1985)

This meaning of this verse does not infer that the Holy Prophet^(sa) would, God forbid, turn away the poor. His love, honour, respect and kindness for the poor was unparalleled and extraordinary, which one can gauge from the Ahadith, as well as from the personal testimonies of these very people.

This verse actually serves as a response to those affluent and highly ranked people, who desired to receive more honour and respect. In response to this, God Almighty stated that He had already commanded the Prophet^(sa) to respect and honour those impoverished people, who had greatly excelled in the remembrance of Allah and His worship, which is more valuable in the sight of God Almighty than their personal wealth and familial honour. In fact, a prophet of Allah does as he is commanded by God.

Hence, this verse serves as a response to those affluent individuals, who believed that their status was superior, and therefore God stated that the Prophet of Allah did not care for their honour and affluence. However, the poor and impoverished people were dear to him.