(Friday Sermon - November 23, 2018 )

Background and Participation in Battles

Hazrat Tha‘labah bin Hatib Ansari^(ra) was a companion from Banu Amr bin Auf. He participated in the Battles of Badr and Uhud (Ashaab-e-Badr, Qazi Muhammad Sulaiman Mansoorpuri, p. 136, Maktabatu Islamiyya, 2015). He belonged to the Banu Amr bin Auf branch of the Aus tribe, as mentioned earlier. (Sahabah-e-Kiram Ka Encyclopedia, Dr Zulfiqar Kazim, p. 450, Tha‘labah bin Hatib Ansari, Baitul Uloom, Lahore)

There are narrations stating that he participated in the Battles of Badr and Uhud as well as some other battles.

A Prayer of the Holy Prophet^(sa) Fulfilled

Hazrat Umamah Bahili^(ra) narrates that Tha’labah bin Hatib Ansari came to the Holy Prophet^(sa) and said, “O Messenger of Allah! Pray to God Almighty that I am granted wealth.” The Holy Prophet^(sa) then said, “There are few people who show gratitude when they possess a large amount of wealth.” He did not pray at the time. A little while later he approached him once again and asked, “Pray that I am granted wealth.” The Holy Prophet^(sa) then answered, “Is my example not sufficient for you with regard to the wealth you desire?” The Holy Prophet^(sa) then said, “By the One in Whose hand is my life, if I said to the mountains to become gold and silver for me, it would indeed happen, however, I do not do so. For one should not have much desire for such wealth.” For a third time he went to the Holy Prophet^(sa) and said, “Pray to God, Who sent you with the truth, that I am bestowed wealth.” The Holy Prophet^(sa) then prayed for Tha‘labah to be granted wealth. The narrator states that he had a few goats, but after this he was blessed so immensely that they became as vast as ants in number

A False Mention of His Wrongdoing

It so happened that to take care of them he stopped offering his Zuhr and Asr prayers in the mosque, and offered them at home. Then the cattle increased even further and he stopped attending the Friday prayers. On Friday, the Holy Prophet^(sa) would enquire about people and so he asked about Tha’labah. The people said that he has such a large herd of goats that the whole valley was filled with them. This was why it took him time to tend to them. Regardless, the Holy Prophet^(sa) expressed his sorrow over this. He expressed sorrow three times. Then when the verses of Zakat were revealed, the Holy Prophet^(sa) sent two people to him to collect the Zakat. When they went to Tha‘labah, he did not give the Zakat and made an excuse. He then said: “I was thinking that if you both collect the Zakat from other places and before returning home you should pass by here.” The collectors then visited other people. At one place a person presented the best camel he owned for Zakat. The collectors stated that they did not ask for his best possession, however the man replied that he was giving it out of his own happiness. Nonetheless, it is a lengthy account and he did not pay the Zakat. The individuals who went to collect the Zakat returned and narrated the account to the Holy Prophet^(sa), who stated that the following verses had just been revealed:

وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ عَاهَدَ اللَّهَ لَئِنْ آتَانَا مِنْ فَضْلِهِ لَنَصَّدَّقَنَّ وَلَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ فَلَمَّا آتَاهُمْ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ بَخِلُوا بِهِ وَتَوَلَّوْا وَهُمْ مُعْرِضُونَ

فَأَعْقَبَهُمْ نِفَاقًا فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ يَلْقَوْنَهُ بِمَا أَخْلَفُوا اللَّهَ مَا وَعَدُوهُ وَبِمَا كَانُوا يَكْذِبُونَ

These were verses 75-77 of Surah al-Taubah. At that time, a relative of Tha‘labah was sitting in the gathering with the Holy Prophet^(sa). Hearing this incident, he went to Tha‘labah and said: “O Tha‘labah! Woe be unto you! God Almighty has revealed such and such verse about you.” Tha‘labah went to the Holy Prophet^(sa) and said to him to accept Zakat from him. The Holy Prophet^(sa) replied: “God Almighty has forbidden me to accept Zakat from you.” Thus, he left unsuccessful and failed in his endeavour.

Then, in the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr^(ra) he brought his Zakat, but he did not accept it from him. Similarly, in the time of Hazrat Umar^(ra) he again brought his Zakat, but Hazrat Umar^(ra) refused to accept it saying that he could not accept something that the Holy Prophet^(sa) rejected. Then, when Hazrat Uthman^(ra) became Khalifa, he requested for his Zakat to be accepted, however, it was also rejected by Hazrat Uthman^(ra) and it was during Hazrat Uthman’s Khilafat that he passed away. (Usdul Ghaba Fi Marifati Al-Sahaba, vol. 1, pp. 325-326, Tha‘labah bin Hatib, Dar-ul-Fikr wa An Nashr wa At Tauzi’, Beirut, 2003)

As regards this incident, on the one hand it is said about Badri companions that they would certainly enter paradise and on the other hand, there is a lengthy account in which it was stated that his Zakat was not accepted. When one reads this account, a thought crosses the mind: How can this be possible?

Allama Hajar Asqalani has mentioned this incident. He writes his own opinion regarding this incident by saying:

“If this incident pertaining to the acceptance of Zakat from a companion proves to be true that it did indeed take place as mentioned, then in my opinion, it would be inappropriate to attribute the person in the incident as Hazrat Tha‘labah, because he was a Badri companion. Regarding Badri companions, God Almighty has openly announced that they will be forgiven. Furthermore, it is not possible for them to exhibit any sort of hypocrisy or to show weakness.”

Allama Hajar Asqalani then writes:

“From the reference of Ibn Qalbi it is evident that there are two different persons, and the Badri companion was martyred in the Battle of Uhud. This claim is further strengthened from a different reference where Ibn Mardwiya has narrated from Atiya, who narrated on the authority of Ibn Abbas^(ra), that under the exegesis of the aforementioned verse, Ibn Abbas has recorded an incident in which there was a man by the name of Tha‘labah bin Abi Hatib, who was from among the Ansar. In one of the gatherings he came and said that if God Almighty bestowed His grace on him … and then the aforementioned lengthy incident was narrated. This person was Tha‘labah bin Abi Hatib, whereas regarding the Badri companion, it is unanimously agreed that he was called Tha‘labah bin Hatib. This fact is further proved by the statement of the Holy Prophet^(sa) in which he said that anyone who took part in [the Battle of] Badr and [the Treaty of] Hudaybiyyah, no Muslim from among them would enter hell.

“In addition to this, there is a Hadith-e-Qudsi in which God Almighty stated regarding the Badri Companions that they can do as they please, they have already been forgiven.”

He further writes:

“If a person has this sort of rank, how will God Almighty resolve the hypocrisy in his heart? If one harbors hypocrisy in their heart, it is not possible for them to be admitted into paradise.”

He continues by saying:

“Furthermore, how can all these tidings be revealed regarding one who harbors hypocrisy in their heart. Thus, this point is clarified that the person in the incident is someone else.” (Al-Isaba fi Tamyiz Al- Sahaba, Vol. 1, pp. 516-517, Tha’labah bin Hatib, Dar-ul-Kutub Al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2005)

This means that Hazrat Tha‘labah^(ra) was not the person mentioned, rather it was someone else. Hazrat Tha‘labah^(ra) was martyred earlier and the one mentioned in the incident was Tha‘labah bin Abi Hatib.

The reason why there was confusion between the two was because the names sound similar. Tha‘labah bin Hatib and Tha‘labah bin Abi Hatib are two different people. This misconception can never arise regarding a Badri companion that he would commit such an act.

May Allah reward Allamah Hajar Asqalani, who mentioned the incident with great insight and clarity. He cleared the Badri companion of the allegation that was being labelled against him through historical evidence.