بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Ramadan Series Heroic Sahaba (ra): At-Tufayl ibn Amr ad-Dawsi (ra)
Ramadan Mubarak to the best Ummah brought forth for humankind. The Islamic Ummah that Allah has honored with His obedience... The Ummah Voice Podcast is pleased to present during the month of Ramadan Heroic Stances of the Sahaba (ra). Sahaba (ra) who had a positive impact in changing the course of events, and set an example for many members of the Islamic Ummah.
One Sahaba that can be attributed for his heroic stance is At-Tufayl ibn Amr ad-Dawsi (ra).
He was the chief of the Daws tribe in pre-Islamic times and a distinguished Arab notable known for his manly virtues and good works. . When At-Tufayl approached Makkah, Quraysh leaders approached him and gave him a most hearty welcome and accommodated him in a grand house. Their leaders and notables then gathered and said:
"O Tufayl, you have come to our town. This man who claims that he is a Prophet has ruined our authority and shattered our community. We are afraid that he would succeed in undermining you and your authority among your people just as he has done with us. Don't speak to the man. On no account listen to anything he has to say. He has the speech of a wizard, causing division between father and son, between brother and brother and between husband and wife."
They went on telling me the most fantastic stories and scared him by recounting tales of his incredible deeds. He then made up his mind then not to approach this man, or speak to him or listen to anything he had to say. The following morning At-Tufayl went to the Sacred Mosque to make tawaf around the Kabah as an act of worship to the idols that we made pilgrimage to and glorified. I inserted a piece of cotton in my ears out of fear that something of the speech of Muhammad would reach my hearing. As soon as At-Tufayl entered the Mosque, At-Tufayl saw the Prophet (saw) standing near the Kabah. He was praying in a fashion which was different from our prayer. His whole manner of worship was different. The scene captivated At-Tufayl. Muhammad (saw’s) worship made At-Tufayl tremble and he felt drawn to him.
Not withstanding the precaution At-Tufayl had taken, Allah (swt) willed that some of what he was saying should reach my hearing and heard a speech that was so beautiful. At-Tufayl said to myself, "What are you doing, Tufayl? You are a perceptive poet. You can distinguish between the good and the bad in poetry. What prevents you from listening to what this man is saying? If what comes from him is good, accept it, and if it is bad, reject it."
At-Tufayl remained there until the Prophet left for his home. At-Tufayl then followed him as he entered his house, and At-Tufayl then entered also and said, "O Muhammad, your people have said certain things to me about you. By God, they kept on frightening me away from your message so that I even blocked my ears to keep out your words. Despite this, God caused me to hear something of it and I found it good. So tell me more about your mission."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, did and recited to me Surah Al-Iklaas and Surah Al-Falaq. At-Tufayl stated, I swear by God, I had never heard such beautiful words before. Neither was a more noble or just mission ever described to me. Thereupon, I stretched out my hand to him in allegiance and testified that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. This is how At-Tufayl entered Islam.
As we can learn from the example of At-Tufayl ibn Amr ad-Dawsi that he did not listen to Quraysh. He himself wanted to see if the rumors about the Prophet Muhammad (saw) were true. He did his own questioning and realized that Islam is the true call. We see today how Islam is diminished by media, culture, traditions in which can be oppressive...
Media targets Islam and portrays it as a barbaric religion that oppresses women. We see today as well how certain traditions from cultures stir the youth from Islam thinking that this is how Islam is. However, if Islam was researched it shows how it truly is a savior for humankind and lifts people out of misery into a dignified life. Media hides how Islam has the solution to the worsening economic problems in Muslim as well as Western countries, how Islam protects women rather than exploiting them, and places real value into the educational system for the new generations. May Allah (swt) guide the Ummah to reach the ability to stand up for the Haq,, ignore false representations of Islam, and have heroic stances like the Sahaba (ra).
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