Legacy of Honor 2: Steadfast Companions

The Honorable companions:

Do you know who the companions are?

The honorable companions are defenders of the religion. They were the ones who transmitted the religion to Muslims from the Prophet ﷺ. In Islam, it is an obligation to love the companions as a whole, as they are the ones who sacrificed, were tortured, and died for the true religion to be spread among humankind.

How is a person considered a companion?

The person is considered a companion if they met the Prophet in an ordinary situation (i.e., not out of an extraordinary occurrence), believed in him, and died as a believer.

These are the people whom the Prophet praised greatly.

At the early stages of the spread of Islam in Makkah, there were the early converts, i.e, the first people to embrace Islam and to believe in the Prophet's message.

Some companions from the early converts or others have suffered severe torture from the non-believers at that time.

In this blog, we will be mentioning some of the companions severely tortured to abandon the faith of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

In the first blog of this series, we mentioned Sumayyah, the first martyr of this nation and mother ^ammar son of Yasir. Now we will be talking about ^Ammar.

^Ammar Ibn Yasir:

^Ammar, a pious companion, was among the early converts of Makkah. ^Ammar and his family were among the people tortured to leave Islam, yet none of them did, and all of them died and will receive Paradise as the Prophet gave them the news. The Prophet ﷺ said, what means: “Patience, O family of Yasir, for you are promised Paradise (For their patience and steadfastness).”

^Ammar witnessed both his parents being executed, his mother stabbed in her private parts to death, and his father died from torture. ^Ammar was also tortured physically and mentally.

Can you imagine your parents being executed in front of you, and you know you're planned to be executed next?

Bilal the Abyssinian- The Prophet's Mu'adhin (caller to prayer):

At that time, Bilal, a slave, embraced Islam and was owned by a non-Muslim who hated Islam immensely. Due to that hatred, he tortured Bilal in barbaric ways to make him leave Islam.

In the scorching sun, Bilal was stripped of his shirt and thrown on the floor back-first, then a huge rock was placed on his chest. It was said to him: "Either you die under the rock and heat, or you abandon the religion of Muhammad and worship idols". To that, his unwavering reply was: " 'Ahadun 'Ahad " which means: "I worship Allah who is one without a partner."

After the severe torture Bilal faced, Abu Bakr (the best companion) bought him from his owner and freed him.

Khabab Ibn Al-'Arat:

It is narrated that Khabab once was in a discussion with Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, and Omar mentioned that Bilal was severely tortured, then he asked Khabab: "What did you endure from the polytheists?". Khabab's reply was: "Take a look at my back", to which Omar was greatly shocked and said: "I have never seen a back like this".

What did Khabab endure?

The non-Muslims would ignite flames and heat stones, then place Khabab back-first onto them to the point Khabab told Omar: "Nothing extinguished the fire clinging to my back except the fluids melting from it.".

These three are just a few among many Muslims who were tortured for their belief. These three great companions faced the barbarism of the polytheists of Quraysh, yet none left Islam, the only way for the accountable person to be saved in the hereafter.

In our upcoming blogs, we will explore some of the matters the Prophet ﷺ conveyed from Allah.

Stay tuned...