The Twenty Fifth Narration: Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said to us on the day of Hudaybiyyah, “You are the best individuals on this earth.”….
The Twenty Fifth Narration
Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah radiya Llahu ‘anhu said:
قال لنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يوم الحديبية أنتم خير أهل الأرض وكنا ألفا وأربع مائة ولو كنت أبصر اليوم لأريتكم مكان الشجرة
Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said to us on the day of Hudaybiyyah, “You are the best individuals on this earth.” And we numbered one thousand four hundred. If I could see now, I would show you the location of the tree.
Imam al Bukhari and Imam Muslim have recorded this narration.
Imam al Tirmidhi has recorded the following:
لا يدخل النار أحد ممن بايع تحت الشجرة
Whoever took the pledge under the Tree will not enter the Fire.
Commentary and Lessons Learnt from this Narration:
1. The great virtue of the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum who took part at Hudaybiyyah becomes evident; they are the best of those on the earth.
2. Those Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum who were present at Hudaybiyyah have been promised Jannat.
3. This narration disproves the phony beliefs of the Batiniyyah. They theorise that the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum turned apostate after the passing of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. (Allah save us from such insolence!).
One given glad tidings of paradise and promised deliverance from hell can never turn apostate.
The Muslim ummah in its entirety subscribe to this belief. There is no evidence, anecdotal or divine, that one given glad tidings of paradise, in this nation or the previous nations, ever turned apostate. Once a divine announcement was issued of pleasure for an individual, it was never retracted nor did that individual join the enemies of Islam.
These Batiniyyah though, they go against explicit divine texts, common sense, and human character. They were the first, in the Islamic history, to cause dissention amongst the Muslims from within. They slandered and carried tales against the purest souls; the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum. Their lies though, were exposed and their putrid character revealed by Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala, as a lesson for the creation till the Last Day.
4. Specific virtue in favour of Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah radiya Llahu ‘anhu as being part of this group.
5. “You are the best individuals on this earth,” is an exclusive expression. The Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum are the best of the creation after the Prophets. The traditions that indicate to this are many and successive. Amongst these traditions is the following recorded by Imam al Bukhari and Imam Muslim:
خير الناس قرني
The best of people are those in my era.
This narration places the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum above all. Ibn Taymiyyah has written the following under the commentary of this hadith:
Shaitan did not, and could not, lead the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum astray as he did with those after them. None of the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum formed part of any of the groups that claimed to reinvent Islam thus becoming innovators in the faith. All factions that arose such as the Khawarij, Rawafid, Qadriyyah, Murjiyyah, and Jahmiyyah were brainchildren of those that came after the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum. Furthermore, Shaitan did not appear in human form before them claiming divinity or infallibility by way of a prophet or otherwise in hopes of leading them astray. All this occurred after them. In short, Shaitan did not try to lead the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum astray as he did with those that interpolated the meanings of the Qur’an and Sunnah or those that heard or saw supernatural occurring’s and made it out to be messages from the Prophets or pious.
The seeds of these innovations were planted in the hearts of those ignorant of the tenants of Tawhid and Sunnah, which Shaitan used to lead them astray. All good too that rose after the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum is purely a growth of what they had started. The quality of knowledge and worship in the best of times; the time of the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum remains unmatched. The best after them are those that followed in their footsteps.
Sufficient for them is the following verse which will remain forever in the Book of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala; a testament to their complete faith:
لَّقَدْ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنِ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ إِذْ يُبَايِعُوْنَكَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَةِ فَعَلِمَ مَا فِيْ قُلُوْبِهِمْ فَأَنزَلَ السَّكِيْنَةَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَثَابَهُمْ فَتْحًا قَرِيْبًا
Certainly was Allah pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you, [O Muhammad], under the tree, and He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down tranquillity upon them and rewarded them with an imminent conquest.[1]
6. The virtue of ‘Aisha Siddiqah radiya Llahu ‘anha is evident from this narration. The best of people on this earth, Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and his two Companions, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma were buried in her home. The narrations mention her dream; 3 moons falling in her house.
7. This pleadge is called the Pledge of the Tree or the Pledge of Satisfaction. The tree which Jabir radiya Llahu ‘anhu refers to is not in existence today. Al Hakim has written in Ma’rifat ‘Ulum al Hadith that it had been swept away by a flood. Sa’id ibn Mussayib says, “I heard my father, who was of those that took the pledge under the tree, saying ‘We searched for it many a time but could not find it.’”
Those guides that specify it to be a tree between Mina and Makkah are mistaken.
8. This too was a mercy from Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala as referred to by ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu. The wisdom behind the location of the tree becoming a mystery was to save the ignorant from attaching mystical powers to the tree itself.
9. The virtue of ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu shines through in this incident. It was due to him this pledge came into effect. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam had sent him to negotiate entry into Makkah in the sixth year of Hijrah when the rumour of his murder spread. Upon this Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam sought allegiance from the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum to fight to the death to avenge the murder of ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu if the rumour was true. The Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum took this pledge. This incident is recorded in detail in the books of hadith.
10. Some of the Shia have claimed virtue of ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu over ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu due to the latter not being present at the pledge, whilst the former was.
This theory of theirs is bemusing at the very least. ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu was not at Hudaybiyyah upon the instruction of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam! Furthermore, Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam placed one hand into his other and remarked, “This is the hand of ‘Uthman”. This is clear in revealing the virtue of ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu over ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu.
11. Question: Does this narration allude to the virtue of those at Hudaybiyyah over those that took part on Badr?
Answer: Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam removed this doubt by joining the two as is in the following narration:
لن يدخل النار رجل شهد بدرا والحديبية
A man who participated in Badr and Hudaybiyyah will never enter the Fire.[2]
Though, those that participated at Badr enjoy a much greater status by the many texts recorded in their favour.
NEXT⇒ The Twenty Sixth Narration
[1] Surah al Fath: 18.
[2] Musnad Imam Ahmed.