Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktum
Scanned from: "Companions of The Prophet", Vol. 1, By: Abdul Wahid Hamid.
Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum was a
cousin of Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, Mother of the Believers, may God
be pleased with her. His father was Qays ibn Za'id and his mother
was Aatikah bint Abdullah. She was called Umm Maktum (Mother of the
Concealed One) because she gave birth to a blind child.
Abdullah witnessed the rise of Islam in Makkah. He was amongst the
first to accept Islam. He lived through the persecution of the
Muslims and suffered what the other companions of the Prophet
experienced. His attitude, like theirs, was one of firmness,
staunch resistance and sacrifice. Neither his dedication nor his
faith weakened against the violence of the Quraysh onslaught. In
fact, all this only increased his determination to hold on to the
religion of God and his devotion to His messenger.
Abdullah was devoted to the noble Prophet and he was so eager to
memorize the Qur'an that he would not miss any opportunity to
achieve his heart's desire. Indeed, his sense of urgency and his
insistence could sometimes have been irritating as he,
unintentionally, sought to monopolize the attention of the
Prophet.
In this period, the Prophet, peace be upon him, was concentrating
on the Quraysh notables and was eager that they should become
Muslims. On one particular day, he met Utbah ibn Rabiah and his
brother Shaybah, Amr ibn Hisham better known as Abu Jahl, Umayyah
ibn Khalaf and Walid ibn Mughirah, the father of Khalid ibn Walid
who was later to be known as Sayf Allah or 'the sword of God'. He
had begun talking and negotiating with them and telling them about
Islam. He so much wished that they would respond positively to him
and accept Islam or at least call off their persecution of his
companions.
While he was thus engaged, Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum came up and
asked him to read a verse from the Qur'an.
"O messenger of God," he said, "teach me from what God has taught
you." The Prophet frowned and turned away from him. He turned his
attention instead to the prestigious group of Quraysh, hoping that
they would become Muslims and that by their acceptance of Islam
they would bring greatness to the religion of God and strengthen
his mission. As soon as he had finished speaking to them and had
left their company, he suddenly felt partially blinded and his head
began to throb violently. At this point the following revelation
came to him:
"He frowned and
turned away when the blind man approached him! Yet for all you
knew, (O Muhammad), he might perhaps have grown in purity or have
been reminded of the Truth, and helped by this reminder. Now as for
him who believes himself to be self-sufficientرto him you gave your
whole attention, although you are not accountable for his failure
to attain to purity. But as for him who came unto you full of
eagerness and in awe of God, him did you disregard.
Nay, verily, this is but a reminder and so, whoever is willing may
remember Him in the light of His revelations blest with dignity,
lofty and pure, borne by the hands of messengers, noble and most
virtuous."
(Surah Abasa 80: 116).
These are the sixteen verses which were revealed to the noble
Prophet about Abdullah ibn Umm Maktumرsixteen verses that have
continued to be recited from that time till today and shall
continue to be recited.
From that day the Prophet did not cease to be generous to Abdullah
ibn Umm Maktum, to ask him about his affairs, to fulfil his needs
and take him into his council whenever he approached. This is not
strange. Was he not censured by God in a most severe manner on
Abdullah's account? In fact, in later years, he often greeted Ibn
Umm Maktum with these words of humility:
"Welcome unto him on whose account my Sustainer has rebuked
me."
When the Quraysh intensified their persecution of the Prophet and
those who believed with him, God gave them permission to emigrate.
Abdullah's response was prompt. He ana Mus'ab ibn Umayr were the
first of the Companions to reach Madinah.
As soon as they reached Yathrib, he and Mus'ab began discussing
with the people, reading the Qur'an to them and teaching them the
religion of God. When the Prophet, upon whom be peace; arrived in
Madinah, he appointed Abdullah and Bilal ibn Rabah to be
muadh-dhins for the Muslims, proclaiming the Oneness of God five
times a day, calling man to the best of actions and summoning them
to success.
Bilal would call the adhan and Abdullah would pronounce the iqamah
for the Prayer. Sometimes they would reverse the process. During
Ramadan, they adopted a special routine. One of them would call the
adhan to wake people up to eat before the fast began.
The other would call the adhan to announce the beginning of dawn
and the fast. It was Bilal who would awaken the people and Abdullah
ibn Umm Maktum who would announce the beginning of dawn.
One of the responsibilities that the Prophet placed on Abdullah
ibn Umm Maktum was to put him in charge of Madinah in his absence.
This was done more than ten times, one of them being when he left
for the liberation of Makkah.
Sasn after the battle of Badr, the Prophet received a revelation
from God raising the status of the mujahideen and preferring them
over the qa'ideen (those who remain inactive at home). This was in
order to encourage the mujahid even further and to spur the qa'id
to give up his inactivity. This revelation affected ibn Umm Maktum
deeply. It pained him to be thus barred from the higher status and
he said:
"O messenger of God. If I could go on jihad, I would certainly
do." He then earnestly asked God to send down a revelation about
his particular case and those like him who were prevented because
of their disabilities from going on military campaigns.
His prayer was answered. An additional phrase was revealed to the
Prophet exempting those with disabilities from the import of the
original verse. The full ayah became:
"Not equal are
those who remain seated among the believers except those who
possess disabilitiesرand those who strive and fight in the way of
God with their wealth and their persons . . ."
(Surah an-Nisaa, 4: 95).
In spite of thus being excused from jihad, the soul of Abdullah
ibn Umm Maktum refused to be content with staying among those who
remained at home when an expedition was in progress. Great souls
are not content with remaining detached from affairs of great
moment. He determined that no campaign should by-pass him. He fixed
a role for himself on the battle field. He would say: "Place me
between two rows and give me the standard. I will carry it for you
and protect it, for I am blind and cannot run away."
In the fourteenth year after the hijrah, Umar resolved to mount a
major assault against the Persians to bring down their State and
open the way for the Muslim forces. So he wrote to his
governors:
"Send anyone with a weapon or a horse or who can offer any form of
help to me. And make haste."
Crowds of Muslims from every direction responded to Umar's call
and converged on Madinah. Among all these was the blind mujahid,
Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum.
Umar appointed Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas commander over the army, gave
him instructions and bade him farewell. When the army reached
Qadisiyyah, Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum was prominent, wearing a coat
of armour and fully prepared. He had vowed to carry and protect the
standard of the Muslims or be killed in the process.
The forces met and engaged in battle for three days. The fighting
was among the most fierce and bitter in the history of the Muslim
conquests. On the third day, the Muslims achieved a mighty victory
as one of the greatest empires in the world collapsed and one of
the most secure thrones fell. The standard of Tawhid was raised in
an idolatrous land. The price of this clear victory was hundreds of
martyrs. Among them was Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum. He was found dead
on the battlefield clutching the flag of the
Muslims.
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