The Guard in the Pass

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) wanted someone to guard them that night. So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: man yaḥrusunā al-laylah? — who will be our guard tonight? Who will stand guard tonight? The Companion Anas ibn Abī Marthad volunteered. So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told him: irkab — ride. So he was on horseback. He came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told him: istaqbil hādhā al-shiʿba ḥattā takūna fī aʿlāh, wa lā nughirranna min qibalika al-laylah. He said: face this valley, or mountain pass, until you reach the top of it. And then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told him: and we do not want to be taken by surprise from your direction tonight.

This is your responsibility; this is your part; this is your duty. We do not want to be attacked from your side; we do not want to be taken by surprise from your side. This should be the duty of every Muslim: every Muslim should be protecting Islam from his direction, from his end, and we should not allow Islam to be attacked from our end. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told him: we do not want to be surprised by an attack from your end this evening.

In the morning — in this narration, and this narration is in the Sunan of Abū Dāwūd (2501) — fa-lammā aṣbaḥnā kharaja Rasūlu Allāhi ilā muṣallāh: the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) went to the place of prayer, the place where they were going to pray Fajr, fa-rakaʿa rakʿatayn, and he prayed two rakʿahs. And then he said: hal aḥsastum fārisakum? — have you sensed your horseman? Meaning: did you see him, or hear his movement? Qālū: yā Rasūla Allāh, mā aḥsasnāh — they said: O Messenger of Allah, no. Fa-thuwwiba bi-al-ṣalāh, fa-jaʿala Rasūlu Allāhi yuṣallī: and then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) started Ṣalāt al-Fajr — first he had prayed the sunnah of Fajr, and now they were praying the ṣalāh of Fajr.

And while the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was in the ṣalāh, wa huwa yaltafitu ilā al-shiʿb — while he was praying, he was looking towards the valley — ḥattā idhā qaḍā ṣalātahu wa sallama qāla: abshirū, fa-qad jāʾakum fārisukum: and when he had finished his prayer and given the salām, he said: rejoice, your horseman has come. Fa-jaʿalnā nanẓuru ilā khilāl al-shajar — and we kept staring through the trees, and we could not see anything. So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saw him before anybody else: he told them that the horseman was coming, and they were still looking but did not see him; and then after that they saw his movement between the trees, on his horse.

Fa-idhā huwa qad jāʾa ḥattā waqafa ʿalā Rasūli Allāh, fa-sallam — and then he came up to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and gave him the salām, and said: innī inṭalaqtu ḥattā kuntu fī aʿlā hādhā al-shiʿbi ḥaythu amaranī Rasūlu Allāh — I was at the place where you instructed me to be; fa-lammā aṣbaḥtu iṭṭalaʿtu al-shiʿbayni kilayhimā, fa-naẓartu fa-lam ara aḥadā — and when it was morning, I looked out from the top over the two passes, and I did not see anyone. Fa-qāla lahu Rasūlu Allāh: hal nazalta al-laylah? — did you come down at all this night? Qāla: lā, illā muṣalliyan — no, except to pray, or to answer the call of nature, to relieve myself. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told him: qad awjabta, fa-lā ʿalayka an lā taʿmala baʿdahā. Awjabta: meaning that Allah (ʿazza wa jall) will grant you Jannah; fa-lā ʿalayka an lā taʿmala baʿdahā — you do not have to do anything after this. So the guarding of Anas ibn Abī Marthad, and his fulfilling his duty as described by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), was an act that granted him Jannah. And this reveals the great reward of guarding fī sabīl Allāh, standing guard for the armies of the fighters fī sabīl Allāh. This is a great reward that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) promised the Companion Anas ibn Abī Marthad (may Allah be pleased with him).