Ṣuhayb's Ransom

Some of the Companions were held back from a hijrah that came after that of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). The majority made hijrah before the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did, but some of them were held back, such as Ṣuhayb al-Rūmī (may Allah be pleased with him). When Ṣuhayb decided that he was going to leave Makkah, he had some wealth. Ṣuhayb al-Rūmī had been imprisoned by the Romans in one of the wars between the Romans and the Arabs — they took him as a prisoner and enslaved him. So he grew up among the Romans, and he acquired their language, so he had this accent when he spoke Arabic. He was sold from one owner to another, from one slave master to the next, until he ended up in the hands of ʿAbdullāh ibn Judʿān. ʿAbdullāh ibn Judʿān was a wealthy man in Makkah, and he freed Ṣuhayb. Ṣuhayb was bright and intelligent and active, so he went into business and he acquired wealth. When he wanted to make hijrah, he dug a hole for his wealth and hid it somewhere, and he left.

Some of Quraysh pursued him, and they told him: "You came to us as a poverty-stricken beggar. With us you grew wealthy and acquired status, and now you want to take yourself and your money away in the name of Allah? By Allah, we will not allow this to happen. You came to us broke, and now you are wealthy — you want to take your wealth and leave us?" Ṣuhayb said, "What if I ransom myself, and give you my wealth?" They said, "Then we will allow you to go." In another account, when he saw them following him, he drew out forty arrows, and he said, "I am going to stick each one of these in one of you, and after I run out of arrows, I am going to draw out my sword, and then you will know that I am a man. I have left money in this particular place — you can go and take it, and let me go." And they agreed to let him leave. This account of Ṣuhayb represents an immigrant who went into Makkah. He was an immigrant who went to Makkah. He was a foreigner, he settled there, he gained status, and he made money. But when he wanted to leave for the sake of Allah, they did not want to allow him to leave. Believers living in the West today can perhaps take heed from the account of Ṣuhayb (may Allah be pleased with him).