(Friday Sermon - May 3, 2019 )

Background and Participation in Battles

Hazrat Salama^(ra) bin Aslam belonged to the tribe of Banu Haritha bin Harith. The name of his father was Aslam. According to one narration, the name of his paternal grandfather was Hareesh, whereas, according to another tradition his name was Harees. He was known by the title of Abu Sa‘d. (al-Sirat al-Nabawiyyah li Ibn Hisham, p. 464, al-Ansar wa man ma’ahum, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2001) (al-Isti’ab, Vol. 2, p. 198, Salamah bin Aslam, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2002)

The name of Hazrat Salama^(ra) bin Aslam’s mother was Suwad bint Rafay. Hazrat Salama^(ra) bin Aslam participated alongside the Holy Prophet^(sa) in all battles, including the battles of Badr, Uhud and Khandaq. He captured Sa‘ib bin Ubaid and Nu‘man bin Amr during the Battle of Badr. Hazrat Salama^(ra) bin Aslam was martyred during the caliphate of Hazrat Umar^(ra) in the battle of Jisr, which was fought at the river bank of the Euphrates River. It was a fierce battle fought between the Muslims and Persians. It is called Jisr, which means bridge, because a bridge was constructed over the river and the Muslims used it to cross into the opposing territory. In this battle, the Persians used elephants that were trained for war. Nevertheless, both sides suffered heavy losses during the battle, especially the Muslims. There are varying opinions with regard to his age at the time of demise, however it is stated that he was 38 years old at the time of his demise. (al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, p. 236, Salamah bin Aslam, Dar-Ihyaa al-Turath al-Arabi, Beirut, Lebanon, 1996) (Usdul Ghaba, Vol. 2, p. 516, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2008) (al-Isaba Fi Tamyeez al-Sahaba, Vol. 3, p. 120, Salamah bin Aslam, Dar-ul-Fikr, Beirut, 2001) (Tarikh Ibn Khuldoon, Vol. 3, part 1, p. 271, Dar-ul-Isha’at, Karachi, 2003)

In Sirat al-Halabiya, a well-known book by Allama Nur-ud-Din Halabi, some miracles of the Holy Prophet^(sa) during the Battle of Badr are mentioned and it is stated that during this battle, the sword of Hazrat Salama^(ra) bin Aslam broke. Upon this, the Holy Prophet^(sa) gave him a branch of dates and told him to fight using that. As soon as Hazrat Salama bin Aslam grabbed hold of the branch, it turned into a magnificent sword and this remained with him thereafter. (al-Sirat al-Halabiyyah, Vol. 2, p. 245, Bab Dhikr Maghaziyah Ghazwah Badr al-Kubra, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2002)

In Sharah Zarqani and Dala’il-e-Nubuwwat, it is written that on the day of Badr, the sword of Hazrat Salama^(ra) bin Aslam broke and he was left without any weapon. The Holy Prophet^(sa) gave him a branch and told him to fight with it. Upon this, it turned into a magnificent sword, which remained with him until he was martyred on the day of Jisr. (Sharh Zurqani Alaa al-Mawahib al-Deeniyyah, Vol. 2, p. 302, Darul Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1996) (Dala’il-ul-Nubuwwah lil-Baihaqi, Vol. 3, p.99, Bab Ma dhukira fi al-Maghazi min Du’aaihi…, Darul Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1988)

Ibn Sa‘d writes that on the occasion of the battle of Khandaq, Hazrat Zaid^(ra) bin Haritha was the flag bearer of the Muhajireen and the flag of the Ansar was held by Hazrat Sa‘d^(ra) bin Ubadah. The Holy Prophet^(sa) appointed Hazrat Salama^(ra) bin Aslam as the leader over 200 men, who formed part of the battalion that had gathered under these various flags. Hazrat Salama^(ra) was appointed as the leader over 200 men and Hazrat Zaid^(ra) bin Haritha was appointed as the leader over 300 men. They were assigned the duty of guarding Medina and continuously reciting the Takbeer out aloud. The reason for this was that the children were kept in the area of the Banu Quraizah for safety reasons and this place was susceptible to an attack. (Uyun-ul-Athar, Vol. 2, p. 88, Ghazwah al-Khandaq, Dar-ul-Qalam, Beirut, 1993)

Conspiracy of Abu Sufyan

An attempt was made to assassinate the Holy Prophet^(sa). In relation to this, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad Sahib^(ra) writes:

“The recollection of their disgraceful failure in the Ghazwah of Ahzab, inflamed the Quraish of Mecca. Naturally, this heartfelt rage had come mostly to the lot of Abu Sufyan, who was the chief of Mecca and had been especially humiliated during the expedition of Ahzab. For some time, Abu Sufyan continued to burn in this fire of rage, but at last, the matter became unbearable and the hidden flames of this fire began to flare up. Naturally, their greatest enmity, rather their actual enmity, was towards the person of the Holy Prophet^(sa). For this reason, Abu Sufyan now thought that if no results had come about through outwardly strategies and schemes, then why not put an end to Muhammad^(sa) by some hidden scheme? He knew that there was no official security around the Holy Prophet^(sa). Quite the contrary, at times, the Holy Prophet^(sa) would come and go, and walk the streets and alleys of the city completely unprotected. He would come to the mosque at least five times daily for the Salat and remained free and accessible whilst travelling. What better opportunity could there possibly have been for an assassin? As soon as this thought came to him, Abu Sufyan began to secretly consolidate his plan to assassinate the Holy Prophet^(sa). When he was fully determined to carry out his plan, one day, capitalising on an opportunity, he addressed a few young men of the Quraish with similar interests, saying, ‘Is there no brave man among you who would secretly go to the streets of Medina and kill Muhammad^[sa]?’ Do you know that Muhammad^[sa] freely roams the streets and alleys of Medina?’ (this is how he incited them against the Holy Prophet^(sa)). These young men heard this news and quickly flew off (this scheme had a great impact on them). Not many days had passed when a young Bedouin man came to Abu Sufyan and began to say, ‘I have heard your proposition (one of the youths may have informed him) and I am willing to do this. I am a strong hearted and mature individual, whose grip is severe and whose strike is sudden. If you appoint me to this task and assist me, I am ready to set out in order to kill Muḥammad^[sa]. I have a dagger, which shall remain like the hidden wings of a wild vulture i.e. he will keep it hidden. I shall attack Muhammad^[sa] and then run to join a caravan and the Muslims shall not be able to catch me. Furthermore, I am also very proficient in the streets of Medina.’

Abu Sufyan was overjoyed and said, ‘Enough, enough. You are the man we seek.’ Then, Abu Sufyan gave him a swift camel and bid him adieu with some provisions, emphatically reminding him not to disclose this secret to anyone.

“After having departed from Mecca, this man moved towards Medina hiding by day and travelling by night. He reached Medina on the sixth night. Ascertaining the whereabouts of the Holy Prophet^(sa), he went straight to the mosque of the Bani Abdul-Ashhal, where the Holy Prophet^(sa) was present. Those days, new people constantly visited Medina, so no Muslim became suspicious of his intentions. But as soon as he entered the mosque and the Holy Prophet^(sa) noticed the man approaching him, he said, ‘This man has come with an evil intention.’ Upon hearing these words, he began to move towards the Holy Prophet^(sa) even faster than before. However, Usaid bin Hudair^(ra), a Chieftain among the Ansar, immediately sprung forward and clung to him and during this tussle his hand fell upon the man’s hidden dagger, whereupon the man screamed out in fear, ‘My death! My death!’ When he was subdued, the Holy Prophet^(sa) enquired of him, ‘Tell me truthfully, who are you and with which intention have you come?’ He said, ‘If my life is spared, I will tell you.’ The Holy Prophet^(sa) said, ‘Yes, relate the entire account truthfully and you shall be forgiven.’ Upon this he related the entire story to the Holy Prophet^(sa) from beginning to end. He also told the Holy Prophet^(sa) of the reward which had been promised to him by Abu Sufyan. Thereafter, this individual stayed in Medina for a few days and then out of his own will became a Muslim, and thus, entered into the service of the Holy Prophet^(sa).

“This bloody conspiracy of Abu Sufyan made it even more incumbent than before to remain informed of the plots and intentions of the people of Mecca (in order to know what they were scheming). As such, the Holy Prophet^(sa) sent two of his companions, Amr bin Umayyah Damri^(ra) and Salmah bin Aslam (the companion whose account is being related), towards Mecca. Considering the assassination attempt of Abu Sufyan and his past bloodthirsty schemes, the Holy Prophet^(sa) permitted his companions to put an end to this war enemy of Islam, if the opportunity were to arise. However, when Umayyah^(ra) and his companion reached Mecca, the Quraish were alerted, whereupon these two companions set back to Medina fending for their lives. On their way back, they found two spies of the Quraish, whom the chieftains of the Quraish had sent to ascertain intelligence on the movements of the Muslims and to acquire information on the Holy Prophet^(sa). It would not be surprising if this scheme was also a grounds for some other bloodthirsty conspiracy of the Quraish. (Perhaps they sent these two individuals to try and kill the Holy Prophet^(sa), heaven forbid, through some sort of scheme.) However, it was by the grace of God that Umayyah^(ra) and Salma^(ra) learned of their espionage, upon which they desired to attack and imprison them, but they fought back. Consequently, in this battle, one spy was killed while the other was taken prisoner and brought back to Medina.

“There is a disagreement amongst historians with regard to the date of this expedition. Ibn-e-Hisham and Tabari have recorded it in 4 AH but Ibn Sa‘d has written it to be in 6 AH. Allama Qustalani and Zurqani have given precedence to the narration of Ibn Sa‘d.”

Analysing all of these narrations, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad Sahib^(ra) concludes,

“Therefore, I have also mentioned it among the accounts of 6 AH. Indeed, Allah knows best. Baihaqi has also supported the details of the account mentioned by Ibn Sa‘d but from this account one cannot establish the period in which it took place.” (Sirat Khatamun-Nabiyyin, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad^(ra), pp. 741-743)

Standing Guard at the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah

The following account is in relation to Hazrat Salama bin Aslam^(ra) on the occasion of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah:

Hazrat Umme Ammarah^(ra) relates, “On the day of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, I was watching the Holy Prophet^(sa) while he was seated and Hazrat Abbad^(ra) bin Bishr and Hazrat Salama^(ra) bin Aslam were standing guard of the Holy Prophet^(sa) and both were wearing steel helmets. When Suhail bin Amr, who came as an emissary from the Quraish, raised his voice, both of these companions told him to lower his voice before the Holy Prophet^(sa).” (Kitabul Maghazi Lil Waqidi, Vol. 2, p. 93, Bab Ghazwah al-Hudaibiyyah, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2004)

This is a notable service of his which has been recorded in relation to this event.