Post by Islamic Revival on Oct 14, 2004 1:25:46 GMT -5
Suhayb lived in the city of al-Uballah (now Basrah) from a family that was wealthy and in which his father was a governor on behalf of the Persian emperor. At the age of 5 he was brutally abducted by a raiding party and became a slave in the markets of Constantinople the then capital of the Byzantine empire. As a slave in his youth he witnessed first hand the corruption of Byzantine society and longed for the opportunity to escape from its clutches. An opportunity arose when he was in his early 20’s and he made haste to Makkah which was a haven for refugees such as himself.
As a confident and honest young man Suhayb quickly established himself in trade and became quite wealthy. At this stage of his life he heard of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wassallam) and started to make enquiries, eventually embracing Islam after hearing Rasulullah (Sallallahu alaihi wassallam) in person speak in the house of al-Arqam. Following his conversion to Islam a familiar pattern emerged of persecution, and harassment by Quraysh – which were all accepted with patience and perseverance despite the severe treatment he received.
When Rasullullah (Sallallahu alaihi wassallam) was given permission by Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) for the hijrah to Medina, Suhayb decided that he too would emigrate along with Abu Bakr. However, Quraysh ever vigilant had other plans and soon effectively imprisoned him by putting guards over him to prevent him leaving with his vast wealth. This continued for some time until he devised a strategy for escape. one night he slipped away pretending that he was going to the toilet. When his captors realized his escape they followed in hot pursuit until catching up with him. They demanded he return citing his wealth that he accumulated working amongst them as the reason for his detention. In response Suhayb offered that he leave all his wealth to them, in return for letting him emigrate. A bargain his captors readily accepted.
Upon reaching the outskirts of Madina Rasullullah (Sallallahu alaihi wassallam) met Suhayb and was over joyed and meeting him with a beaming smile he said: “Your transaction has been fruitful, O Abu Yahya. Your transaction has been fruitful” repeating this 3 times. Suhayb too was wearing a big smile and said:
“By Allah, no one has come before me to you O Rasullullah, and only Jibril could have told you about this”<br>
Indeed Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) revealed in the Quran the truth of these statements in Surah al-Bakarah 2:207:
æóãöäú ÇáäøóÇÓö ãóäú íóÔúÑöí äóÝúÓóåõ ÇÈúÊöÛóÇÁó ãóÑúÖóÇÉö Çááøóåö æóÇááøóåõ ÑóÁõæÝñ ÈöÇáúÚöÈóÇÏö (ÇáÈÞÑÉ: 207
“And there is a type of man who gives his life to earn the pleasure of Allah. And Allah is full of kindness to His servants”<br>
Suhayb’s generous spirit and acts of charity were well renowned throughout the rest of his life, and his selfless sacrifice of all his wealth to ensure that he could be with the fledgling state as it grew in Medina epitomised the utter commitment of the companions to see the establishment of the state and its growth.
From www.ramadhan.org