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The Islamic Bulletin
Issue 11
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The Islamic Bulletin
Issue 11
S
aeed
-
bin
J
ubair
An account of Saeed-bin-Jubair, who is a famous Tabie. The Prophet
(PBUH) has said:
“To utter truth in the face of a tyrant is the best Jihad.”
This is a story of Jihad of that type. At that time, Hajjaj-bin-Yusuf, the
notorious blood-shedder was in power. Hajjaj’s harshness and tyranny
are well known in human history. The rules in those days, in spite of
their shortcomings, never lagged behind in propagating the faith, yet
we treat them as the worst among rules because of the contrast with
the just and God- fearing rulers. He was the viceroy of king Abdul
Malik-bin-Marwan for Hijaz and Iraq. The king lived in Damascus and
Hajjaj had his headquarters at Koofah. Saeed-bin-Jubair had fought
against Hajjaj on the side of Ibnul-Ashath. After the defeat, Saeed (Rah-
matullah alaih) ran away and took asylum inMecca. The Government
posted a very stern person as the Governor of Mecca, with instructions
to arrest Saeed. The Governor assembled all the people of Mecca and
read before them the order of King Abdul Malik, which said:
“Any person who gives shelter to Saeed (Rahmatullah alaih) shall meet
the same fate as Saeed himself.”
He then announced to the people:
“By Allah, I must kill the personwho gives shelter to Saeed (Rahmatullah
alaih). His and his neighbors’ houses shall be razed to the ground.”
Saeed was arrested with great difficulty and sent to Koofah. When
he was brought before Hajjaj, the following conversation took place:
Hajjaj: “What is your name?”
Saeed: “My name is Saeed (lit. Auspicious).”
Hajjaj: “What is your father’s name?”
Saeed: “Jubair (lit. Trimmed).”
Hajjaj: “No, you are in fact Shaqi (lit. Wretched) son of Kusair (lit. a
broken thing).”
Saeed: “My mother knew my name better than you do.”
Hajjaj: “You are wretched and so is your mother.”
Saeed: “The Knower of the hidden things is some One else.”
Hajjaj: “Look! I am putting you to sword.”
Saeed: “Then my mother was right in giving me this name.”
Hajjaj: “I shall send you to Hell.”
Saeed: “If I knew that you had that power, I would have taken you
as my god.”
Hajjaj: “What is your belief about the Prophet (SAW)?”
Saeed: “He was an apostle of Mercy and a Prophet of Allah, sent with
the best Guidance for the whole creation.”
Hajjaj: “What do you say about the Khalifas?”
Saeed: “I am not a warder over them. Everybody is responsible for
his own actions.”
Hajjaj: “Who is the most exalted of the four Khalifahs?”
Saeed: “The one who had been able to please Allah more than the
rest?”
Hajjaj: “Which of them had been able to please Allah?”
Saeed: “This is known only to Him. Who knows what is hidden in the
bosoms and what the hearts conceal.”
Hajjaj: “Is Ali in Paradise or in Hell?”
Saeed: “I can answer only after I visit the two places and meet their
dwellers.”
Hajjaj: “How shall I fare on the Day of Judgment?”
Saeed: “I am not fit to receive the knowledge of the unseen?”
Hajjaj: “You do not intend to tell me the truth.”
Saeed: “But I did not tell a lie either.”
Hajjaj: “Why do you never laugh?”
Saeed: “I do not see anything to laugh at; and indeed why should one
laugh, who is created from dust, who has to appear on the Day of
Judgment, and is always surrounded by tribulations.”
Hajjaj: “But I do laugh.”
Saeed: “Allah has created us with different temperaments.”
Hajjaj: “I am now going to kill you.”
Saeed: “The time andmanner of my death have already been decreed.”
Hajjaj: “Allah has preferred me to you.”
Saeed: “Nobody can be proud of his relation with Allah, unless he
knows his position; and Allah is the only knower of the unseen.”
Hajjaj: “Why should I not be proud of my relation with Allah, when I
am with the Amir-ul- Mominin and you are with the rebels?”
Saeed: “I amwith the otherMuslims. I myself shunmischief, but nobody
can change the decree of Allah.”
Hajjaj: “What do you say about what we collect for Amir-ul-Mominin?”
Saeed: “I do not know what you collect for him.”
Hajjaj sent for gold, silver and dresses from the treasury and showed
these to Saeed.
Saeed: “These are useful, provided you are able to obtain with them
the things that may provide you peace on theDay of Consternation (i.e.
Day of Judgment), when every nursing mother will forget her nursing,
and every pregnant one will be delivered of her burden, and when
nothing but good will be of any avail.”
Hajjaj: “Are our collections not good?”
Saeed: “You have collected them, and you are the best judge.”
Hajjaj: “Do you like any of these things for yourself?”
Saeed: “I only like the things which Allah likes.”
Hajjaj: “Woe to you!”
Saeed: “Woe is for the person who is deprived of Paradise and is made
to enter Hell.”
Hajjaj: “(Annoyed): “Say how should I kill you?”
Saeed: “As you would like to be killed.”
Hajjaj: “Should I forgive you?”
Saeed: “Allah’s forgiveness is real. Your forgiveness is of no value.”
Hajjaj: “(To the executioner): ‘Kill this man.’”
Saeed laughed while he was being taken for execution. Hajjaj was
informed of this. He called him back.
Hajjaj: “What made you laugh?”
Saeed: “Your boldness with Allah, and His clemency to you.”
Hajjaj: “I am killing a person who has caused dissent among the Mus-
lims.” (To the Executioner) “Kill him in front of me.”
Saeed: “Let me say my Salat of two rakaats.”
After finishing Salat, he faced Qiblah and recited:
“Verily, I have turned my face toward Him. Who created the heavens
and earth, as one by nature upright, and I am not of the idolaters.”
Hajjaj: “Turn him from our Qiblah and let him face the Qiblah of
the Christians, who also caused dissension and dispute among their
community.”
His face immediately turned to the other direction.
Saeed: “Whithersoever Ye turn, there is Allah’s Face. For Allah is All-Em-
bracing, All-Knowing.” (Quran 2:115)
Hajjaj: “Make him lie on his face. We are only responsible for appear-
ance.”
Saeed was made to lie on his face.
Saeed:”From the (earth) didWe create you, and into it shall We return
you, and from it shall We bring you out once again.” (Quran 20:55)
Hajjaj: “Kill him!!”
Saeed: “I call you to witness what I recite: “I bear witness that there is
no god except Allah, who is all alone and Who has no partner and I
bear witness that Muhammad (SAW) is His slave and His Messenger.”
He was then beheaded -- Inna lillahi wa Inna ilaihi rajeun -- To God
We Belong And To Him We Return.
After the execution, too much blood came out from Saeed’s body.
Hajjaj himself marveled greatly at it. He inquired the reason from his
doctors, who said: “His tranquility and composure at the time of death
had kept his blood in its original form. Generally, people to be executed
are so much scared and afraid of death that their blood curdles and
does not flow profusely.”
Similarly, the allegation that the Qur’an was the language of
a soothsayer is equally unfounded. Apart from the fact that a
soothsayer, like anyone else, is prone to forgetfulness as the
years go by, he may need to modify his speech to the needs
of each new situation. Hence came Allah’s remark “Little is it
that ye remember!”
Furthermore, a soothsayer’s words burdened with conventions
of speech which, no matter how elaborate, cannot apply to
more than one situation by using the same words and referring
to one thought. Another miraculous feature of the Qur’an is
its superb use of both metrical composition and prose, in such
exquisite harmony that the shift from one style to the other
is barely perceptible. This intermingling of metrical and non-
metrical composition is present throughout the whole of the
Qur’an, as the following verses exemplify:
“Lo those who ward off (evil) are among gardens and wa-
tersprings. (And it is said unto them: Enter them in peace,
secure. And we remove whatever rancor may be in their
breasts. As brethren, face to face, (they rest) on couches
raised. Toil cometh not unto them there, nor will they be
expelled from thence... Announce (O Muhammad) unto
My slaves that verily I am the Forgiving, the Merciful,
and that My doom is the dolorous doom. And tell them of
Abraham’s guest. (How) when they came unto him, and
said: Peace. He said: Lo! We are afraid of you.” (Quran
Al-Hijr 15:45-52)
When reading the original Arabic of the above verse the reader
moves from metric composition to prose without experiencing
the slightest change of style or mode.
The same mingling of metrical and non- metrical composition
can be observed in the following verse from the Surah of Yusuf
(12). In this chapter, the wife of the ruler al-’Aziz commands
Joseph to come out and face the women, whom she has as-
sembled,
“Come out unto them! And when they saw him they exalted
him and cut their hands exclaiming: Allah blameless! This
is not a human being. This is no other than some gracious
angel. She said: This is he on whose account ye blamed me.
I asked of him an evil act, but he proved continent, but if he
do not my behest he verily shall be imprisoned, and verily
shall be of those brought low.” (Quran 12:31-32)
Although the original version of the phrase translated as: ‘This is
he on whose account ye blamed me’ is indeed metrical diction
in which the rules and technique of Arabic poetry are observed,
it is almost impossible for the listener to detect the shift from
one form to the other, nor does this exquisite mingling impinge
on the fluidity of expression or impair its meaning.
The Qur’an is truly unique in its composition. It is neither
prose nor verse, deriving its unique and inimitable eloquence
and meaningfulness from the divine attributes and powers of
its Maker. It is these same divine attributes which have set the
Qur’an above emulation and given it its transcendental powers.
When the non-believers failed to detract from the Qur’an’s
credibility or give sound justification for their antagonism to
it, Allah’s speech and message to mankind, they focused their
attack on Muhammad instead. They contended that if Allah
truly sought someone to serve Him as His Messenger to mankind
He would have favored one of their highly esteemed dignitaries.
They argued that Muhammad’s illiteracy and humble status
within the community, as well as his humility, made him ineligi-
ble for such a divine task. This rancorous and conniving strategy
is revealed in the Surah al-Zukhruf (43) where Allah says:
“And now that the Truth has come unto them they say: This
is mere magic, and lo! We are disbelievers therein. And they
say: If only this Qur’an had been revealed to some great man
of the two towns”. (Quran Al-Zukhruf 43:30-31)
These verses show how jealous, resentful, and confused the
idolaters were. Although they described the Qur’an as mere
magic, they nevertheless wished that it had been revealed
to one of their unbelieving dignitaries, knowing that such a
favor would have given them a pretext to herald the view
that Allah had no feud with their idols. It would then have
been easy for them to distort the message to suit their own
ends, to tighten their grip on the minds of their followers
and to ensure their submissiveness while expanding their
wealth and power. To accept the message and abide by its
imperatives and the discipline of Allah however is to forfeit
all this authority and corruption. This hidden trait is revealed
in the Surah al-Qasas:
“And they say: If we were to follow the Guidance with thee
we should be torn out of our land.” (Quran 28:57)
T
he
M
eaning
of
the
M
uqatta
’
at
L
etters
By their resentment of Muhammad and in their defiance of
Allah, the idolaters consciously unveiled their hidden belief in
the truth of the message and its miraculous nature. The very
choice of Muhammad (SAW) as the recipient of Allah’s Message
was itself miraculous. Still another miracle of the Qur’an can
be found in the mysterious usage of the so-called Muqatta’at
letters that occur in certain chapters.
The choice of Muhammad (SAW) as the Messenger of Allah
was miraculous because he could neither read nor write. He
had no knowledge of the skills of literature, yet he reached to
mankind in a language that was unique in terms of its clarity,
intelligibility and its inimitability. All these factors were clear
indications to the Qur’an’s divine origin. An illiterate can utter
words and reproduce sentences, but to construct new ones is
something which no illiterate has been known to do.
Many of the passages revealed to Muhammad began with the
letters of the Arabic alphabet, such as alif, lam, mim as a further
challenge to the skeptics. Despite his illiteracy, Muhammad was
able to pronounce those letters in which he had no education
and which he had never previously heard spoken.
If the Qur’an were of Muhammad’s (SAW) own making, the
pronunciation of the letters of the alphabet, which he had not
learnt, would have been beyond his ability, for only a person
who had learnt how to read and write could identify these
letters and utter them correctly.