The Companions of the Ditch… Lessons and Reflections [1]
By: Tareq Mustafa Hamida
In his book al-Sahīh, Imām Muslim ibn al-Hajjāj, may Allāh’s mercy be on him, narrated the hadith of the Companions of the Ditch, and there are other versions of the hadith from sources other than Muslim. However, these versions are not as authentic or linguistically cohesive as Muslim’s narration.
The story has been addressed by many scholars, both ancient and contemporary. Among the best works are those by Ustādh Rifāī͑ Surūr in his book The Companions of the Ditch, and by our Sheikh Dr. Muhammad Abū Fāris in his book Trials and Tribulations and Their Impact on Islamic Movements. Additionally, the Iraqi writer Dāwūd Suleimān al-͑Ubaidī crafted a beautiful novel based on the Hadith of the Companions of the Ditch, titled The Girl of the Island, which spans several hundred pages.
It was the will of Allah that the author of these lines took an interest in the story of the Companions of the Ditch in the mid-1980s. He wrote a few pages on the topic and sent them to a magazine, but they were not published. He also delivered several lectures during that period until Allah decreed that he would return to writing and publishing once more.
While these lines are primarily focused on explaining the hadith, they occasionally reference Sūrat al-Burūj (The Constellations). The desire to complete the work quickly after prolonged delay and procrastination may have prevented the integration of the interpretation of the Surah with the explanation of the hadith and the connection between them. Nevertheless, the author acknowledges that he has greatly benefited from the works of both ancient and contemporary scholars. However, he has also included much of what Allah has blessed him with, which is by Allah’s grace plentiful. Since the wonders of Allah’s revelation never cease and do not become worn out despite frequent revisiting, the door will always remain open for anyone who examines the Book and the Sunnah, and Allah may grant them new insights.
Suhaib, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah, (peace be upon him), said,
There lived a king before you, and he had a court magician. As the magician grew old, he said to the king, ‘I have grown old, so send me a young boy in order to teach him magic.’ The king sent him a young boy to serve the purpose. On his way (to the magician), the young boy met a monk to whom he listened and liked what he heard. It became his habit that on his way to the magician, he would meet the monk, sit with him, and come to the magician late. The magician used to beat him because of this delay. He complained about this to the monk, who said to him, ‘When you feel afraid of the magician, say, ‘Members of my family detained me,’ and when you fear your family, say, ‘The magician detained me!’
It so happened that a huge beast blocked the way of the people, and the young boy said, ‘Today, I will know whether the magician or the monk is better.’ He picked up a stone and said, ‘O Allah, if the way of the monk is dearer to You than the way of the magician, bring about death to this animal so that the people can move freely!’ He threw the stone at it, killed it, and the people began to move freely. He then came to the monk and told him the story. The monk said, ‘Son, today you are better than I. You have reached a stage where I feel that you will soon be put to trial. In case you are put to trial, do not reveal me.’
The young boy began to heal those born blind and the lepers, and he cured people from all kinds of illnesses. When a courtier of the king who had gone blind heard about him, he came to him with numerous gifts and said, ‘If you cure me, all these things will be yours.’ The boy replied, ‘I do not cure anyone. It is Allah, the Exalted, Alone Who cures; and if you affirm faith in Allah, I will supplicate to Allah to cure you.’ The courtier affirmed his faith in Allah, and Allah cured him. He returned to the king and sat by his side as he used to do. The king said to him, ‘Who restored your eyesight?’ He said, My Lord did.’ The king asked, ‘Do you have another lord besides me?’ He said, ‘My Lord and your Lord is Allah.’ The king then began to torture him until he revealed the young boy. The young boy was summoned, and the king said to him, ‘O boy, I have been informed that you have become proficient in your magic and that you cure the blind and the lepers and do such and such!’ The boy replied, ‘I do not cure anyone; it is Allah Alone Who cures.’ The king took hold of him and began to torture him until he revealed the monk.
The monk was summoned, and it was said to him, ‘Turn back from your religion.’ But he refused. The king sent for a saw, placed it in the middle of the monk’s head, and cut him into two parts that fell. Then the courtier of the king was brought forward, and it was said to him, ‘Turn back from your religion.’ He too refused, and the saw was placed in the middle of his head, and he was torn into two parts. Then the boy was sent for, and it was said to him, ‘Turn back from your religion.’ He refused. The king then handed him over to a group of his courtiers and said, ‘Take him to such and such a mountain; make him climb up that mountain, and when you reach its peak, ask him to renounce his faith. If he refuses to do so, push him to his death.’ So, they took him and made him climb up the mountain. The boy said, ‘O Allah, save me from them in any way You like.’ The mountain began to shake, and they all fell (dead), and the boy came walking to the king. The king asked him, ‘What happened to your companions?’ He said, ‘Allah has saved me from them.
The king again handed him to some of his courtiers and said, ‘Take him and carry him in a boat. When you reach the middle of the sea, ask him to renounce his religion. If he does not renounce his religion, throw him (into the water).’ So, they took him, and he said, ‘O Allah, save me from them.’ The boat turned upside down, and they all drowned except the boy, who came walking to the king. The king asked him, ‘What happened to your companions?’ He said, ‘Allah has saved me from them.’ The boy then said to the king, ‘You cannot kill me until you do what I command you to do.’ The king asked, ‘What is that?’ The boy said, ‘Gather all the people in one place, tie me to the trunk of a tree, take an arrow from my quiver, and say, ‘With the Name of Allah, the Lord of the boy’ then shoot me. If you do that, you will be able to kill me.’
The king called the people to an open field and tied the boy to the trunk of a tree. He took out an arrow from the boy’s quiver, fixed it in the bow, and said, ‘With the Name of Allah, the Lord of the boy,’ then he shot the arrow. It hit the boy’s temple. The boy placed his hand on the temple where the arrow had hit him and died. The people then said, ‘We believe in the Lord of this boy.’ The king was told, ‘Do you see what you were afraid of? By Allah, it has taken place; all the people have believed.’
The king then commanded trenches to be dug and fire lit in them. He said, ‘He who does not turn back from this boy’s religion, throw him in the fire’ or, he said, ‘he will be ordered to jump into it.’ They did so until a woman came with her child. She hesitated to jump into the fire. The child said to her, ‘O mother! Endure (this ordeal), for you are on the Right Path.’”[1]
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