Khabbāb's Scars and the Messenger's Answer

What was the response of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)? How would he respond to all of this? In al-Bukhārī, Khabbāb ibn al-Aratt (may Allah be pleased with him), who was one of the Companions who went through a lot, went to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) while he was leaning his back towards the Kaʿbah, and said, O Messenger of Allah, why don't you make duʿāʾ for us? That's all what he said, but the message implies that they were going through a lot: why don't you ask Allah to ease the pain they were going through?

Khabbāb ibn al-Aratt was going through a lot himself. One day, later on, when ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (may Allah be pleased with him) was the Caliph, ʿUmar was asking all of the people around to talk about their experiences in Makkah — what did they go through? So when the turn came to Khabbāb ibn al-Aratt, he didn't speak; what he did was lift his shirt and expose his back. That's it. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said, I have never seen something like this — what happened to you? Khabbāb ibn al-Aratt had deep holes, deep black holes in his back. He said, when I was in Makkah, the people of Quraysh would bring some rocks and burn them over fire, some small rocks, and they would burn them on fire until they turned red, and then they would lay them on the hot sand in the desert of Makkah, and they would throw me on top of it, so these rocks would burn through my flesh — they would burn through my flesh, and I would hear the burning of my flesh, and I would smell my fat, grease burning. He said, I could smell the smoke coming off from my back.

So Khabbāb ibn al-Aratt had something to complain about; this was severe pain that he was going through. And what he asks for is, O Messenger of Allah, why don't you ask Allah to give us victory? What was the response of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)? He sat straight, and his face turned red — and that would happen to him when he would become angry — and then he said that among those who came before, a man would be seized and a saw brought and set against his head, so that he would be split in two, or an iron comb would be drawn between his flesh and his bones and sinews, and none of that would turn him back from his religion. And this matter, he said, Allah would bring to completion, until a rider would travel from Ṣanʿāʾ to Ḥaḍramawt, fearing none but Allah, and the wolf for his sheep.

So it is very interesting that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) chose this area — which is now one of the more insecure areas in the world — as a reference, to say that there cannot be peace without Islam. And this leads to the lesson that there is no comprehensive peace unless Islam reigns. Under Islam, people will have true peace, and that's the meaning of the word Islam: peace.