"You May Pass by My Grave"

In a narration of Imām Aḥmad from Muʿādh, he used to say: the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sent me to Yemen. He said: you may pass by my grave and my mosque; and I am sending you to a people whose hearts are tender, who will fight for the truth twice. So fight, with those who obey you, those who disobey you; then they will return to Islam — ḥattā tubādira al-marʾatu zawjahā, wa al-waladu wālidah, wa al-akhu akhāh; fa-nzil bayna al-ḥayyayni: al-Sakūn wa al-Sakāsik. Muʿādh ibn Jabal said: the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sent me to Yemen and told me: you may pass by my grave and my mosque. This is an indication that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was meeting Muʿādh for the last time. And: I am sending you to a people who have soft hearts, and they will fight for the truth twice; so fight, with those who follow you, those who disobey you.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was telling Muʿādh ibn Jabal: make daʿwah; when people accept Islam, recruit them immediately, and use them to fight against those who disbelieve. And this is what the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was telling Muʿādh ibn Jabal to do: to recruit them when they became Muslim, to fight those who had not become Muslim. And then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told him that when he fought with them against those who disobeyed, Islam would spread. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told him that Islam would spread, and that he would find a woman leaving her husband, and a child leaving the parents, and a brother leaving his brother, for the sake of Islam.

In another narration of Imām Aḥmad, from Muʿādh ibn Jabal: when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sent Muʿādh ibn Jabal to Yemen, he went out with him, advising him, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was walking beside him. When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was sending Muʿādh ibn Jabal, he was giving him advice, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was walking, while Muʿādh was riding. And this is the humbleness and the simplicity of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) — the head of state, the Prophet (peace be upon him), the greatest of mankind: he was walking while Muʿādh ibn Jabal was riding on his mount. Fa-lammā faragha qāla: yā Muʿādh, innaka ʿasā an lā talqānī baʿda ʿāmī hādhā, wa laʿallaka an tamurra bi-masjidī hādhā wa qabrī — O Muʿādh, you may not see me again after this year of mine; and perhaps you will pass by this mosque of mine, and my grave. Fa-bakā Muʿādh — Muʿādh wept. Thumma iltafata bi-wajhihi naḥwa al-Madīnati fa-qāla: inna awlā al-nāsi bī al-muttaqūna, man kānū wa ḥaythu kānū — and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) turned his face towards Madīnah and said: the people closest to me are the people of taqwā, whoever they are and wherever they are.

And this is great bushrā, joyful news, from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is saying that the people closest to him are the people who have taqwā, wherever they are — in any land they are — and whoever they are. It does not matter what race or background they come from, as long as they are people of taqwā.

Another word of advice the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) gave Muʿādh ibn Jabal — and this too is in the Musnad of Imām Aḥmad. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told Muʿādh ibn Jabal: iyyāka wa al-tanaʿʿum, fa-inna ʿibāda Allāhi laysū bi-al-mutanaʿʿimīn — beware of luxury, for the servants of Allah are not people of luxury. Muʿādh ibn Jabal was being sent to be what? A governor. So it was a job that would afford him luxury if he wanted it. So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was warning him and telling him: beware of luxury. So that was the advice the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) gave to a man who could afford luxury; how much more for those who are not in positions of luxury, and nevertheless force themselves to live a life of luxury? And luxury is a very dangerous thing; and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is telling Muʿādh that the servants of Allah — the true servants of Allah — are not people of luxury.