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Zubair (Radia Allah Anhu)
was the son of Al Awam and the father of Abdullah.
Zubair is one of the most respectable and famous
personalities of Islam, The Prophet (PBUH) himself had
decorated him with the title of Hawari-e-Rasul" or the
Disciple of the Messenger of Allah, He was one of those
ten companions of the Holy Prophet about whom the
Prophet (PBUH) had predicted of their entry into
Paradise. His eminence may be judged by the fact that
Umar Farooq (May Allah be pleased with him) would
honourably address him with the words as One of the
pillars of the Faith." Zubair had more than one
relationship with the Holy Prophet (PBUH) as follows:
1. He was the son of Safiyah (May Allah be
pleased with her), the daughter of Abdul Muttalib and
the aunt of the Holy Prophet. Thus he was the cousin of
the Holy Prophet(PBUH).
2. Khadijatul Kubra (May
Allah be pleased with him), the mother of the believers
was the aunt of Zubair , and according to this the Holy
Prophet was his uncle.
3. Asma, the daughter of
Abu Bakr Siddiq ( May Allah be pleased with him) and the
elder sister of Aisha Siddiqah (May Allah be pleased
with him), the mother of the faithful was married to
Zubair and thus he was a brother-in-law of the Holy
Prophet (PBUH).
4. Qusai, the son of Kalab, was
the common ancestor of both the Holy Prophet and Zubair,
and in this way Zubair had also ancestral relation with
the Holy Prophet(PBUH).
His father Al Awam died
when Zubair was still a child, so he came under the
guardianship of his uncle Naufil the son of Khowailid,
His mother Safiyah, a bold and courageous lady as she
was, wanted to bring up her child Zubair also as a bold
and courageous man. So she would compel him to work hard
and become sturdy and stout. For the same reason she
would often beat the young boy mercilessly, One day
seeing the boy being beaten mercilessly by Safiyah,
Naufil became restless. He complained to the nobles of
Bani Hashim, the tribe to which Safiyah belonged,
against her being so unkind to the boy, When Safiyah
heard about it, she declared, "It is mistaken to state
that I beat Zubair with enmity, I beat him in such a way
only to make him wise."
What the like, Safiyah
wanted to make her son, may be understood well by the
fact narrated by Hafiz Bin Hajar, a famous historian. He
writes;
" Once, Zubair while in his boyhood, was
confronted in a brawl against a full grown up man and
had to fight, He struck the full grown up man in such a
manner that the young man lost one of his hands. But
when people complained against Zubair to Safiyah, she
did not mind, She rather asked with great fondness, How
de they find Zubair in the fighting, "Did he prove
himself a brave or a coward? "
It was this sort
of training from his mother that Zubair (May Allah be
pleased with him) became one of the great brave men of
his age. He was always ready to face any danger and to
endure any pain and troubled During the early days of
Islam, one day a rumor was spread in Mecca that Holy
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was made captive by the
idolaters of Quraish, Someone even laid that the Prophet
was martyred, Zubair, who had come home to take rest for
a while, also heard this rumor. Although, he was then
only a boy of sixteen years, but bearing the rumor he
was so excited that he at once rushed out of his house
with a naked sword in hand. He, however,
blue
taking any action against the idolaters, thought it
necessary to ascertain about the rumors that were being
heard, He went straight to the house of the Holy Prophet
with his face being red and naked sword in his hand.
Seeing him in such a state the Holy Prophet
(PBUH) asked, "What is the matter with you brother? Why
there is a naked sword in your hand today?"
"O
Messenger of Allah," Zubair started saying, "thanks to
Allah that you are quite safe and secure. My parents may
be sacrificed for you, I heard the rumor that the
idolaters had made you captive or even martyred you."
"So, this is the matter which made you so
restless," said the Holy Prophet (PBUH) with a smile on
his face, "Well, suppose if the rumors would have been
true then what would you do?"
"O Messenger of
Allah, the young boy cried out, By Allah I would have
alone declared war against the whole of Mecca. I would
have preferred to die than to live after you were
murdered."
Hearing this statement of the boy
Zubair (May Allah be pleased with him) the Holy Prophet
smiled again and pointing towards the sword of Zubair he
declared, "This is the first sword raised for the cause
of Allah and His Prophet."
Zubair belonged to
the family that was blessed with the light of Islam just
in the beginning. His aunt Khadija el Kubra was the
first lady of Islam, his mother Safiyah too accepted
Islam in the beginning. So it was quite natural for
Zubair that he too became a true follower of Islam
between the age of twelve and sixteen years, and this is
why he attained a prominent position among the earliest
companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
As we
have seen above, Zubairs uncle Naufil was very kind and
affectionate to him, but this was only till the time
Zubair was beyond the fold of Islam. As soon as Zubair
accepted the Oneness of Allah and the Prophethood of
Muhammad (PBUH) his uncle Naufil became his worst enemy.
Now, that very Naufil who had become one day restless to
see Zubair being beaten by his mother, himself started
to treat him worse than an enemy. The historians say,
the enmity and hostility of Naufil against Zubair knew
no bounds. He, usually would wrap him up into a mattress
and lit fire around him. In this condition when he would
be choked of smoke, his cruel uncle would ask, "Are you
ready to come back to your ancestral religion or not?"
"No, never," the boy Zubair (R.A.A.) would reply firmly,
"It is quite impossible for me now to give up the
religion of Allah. I must die as a Muslim and not as an
infidel."
When the cruelty of his uncle exceeded
all limits, Zubair (May Allah be pleased with him) left
Mecca for Habasha (now Ethiopia) with the permission of
the Holy Prophet (PBUH) But he did not stay there for
long, After some time he cape hack to Mecca and started
business.
The Hijrah (migration) of the Prophet
from Mecca to Madina occurred during the days Zubair had
left to Syria for business. While coming back to Mecca
from Syria, he met the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and Abu Bakr
Siddiq (May Allah be pleased with him), in the way, who
were going to Madina from Mecca. At that moment he was
not in a position to accompany them, so presenting some
clothes to the Prophet and Siddiq he took his way to
Mecca, But after sometime, he too came over to Madina
with his mother Safiyah and his wife Asma.
In
Madina the Holy Prophet (PBUH) had established "Moakhah"
or the relationship of Islamic Brotherhood, between the
Muhajirs of Mecca and Ansar of Madina. According to this
relationship Zubair was made the brother-in Islam of
Salma (May Allah be pleased with him) the son of Salama,
who belonged to Banu Ash-hal, a clan of the Madinite
tribe Aus He was among those companions of the Prophet
who took part in the first remarkable pact of Aqaba,
according to which the Prophet (PBUH) migrated to
Madina.
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