FUNERALS SECTION · 15 – THE VIRTUE OF THOSE WHO DIE FROM THE PLAGUE
3111 – According to what Jābir ibn ʿAtīk (may Allah be pleased with him) reported, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) once came to visit ʿAbdullah ibn Thābit while he was ill, and found him unconscious. Thereupon, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) called out to him, but he could not respond to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Indeed, we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return.” He said, “O Abū Rabīʿ, (we wish for your life, but) we have been overcome by Allah’s decree.” Upon this, the women wailed and cried. Ibn ʿAtīk was silencing them. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Leave them (to themselves), (but) when it becomes obligatory, let no woman weep.” Those around asked, “What does ‘obligatory’ mean?” The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “It is death.” The daughter of Abū Rabīʿ said: “I was hoping you would be a martyr, for you had prepared your needs to go out for jihad.” The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Indeed, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has granted him his reward according to his intention. What do you count as martyrdom?” The Companions (ṣaḥāba) said: “We count being killed in the way of Allah as martyrdom.” The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Besides being killed in the way of Allah, there are seven other kinds of martyrdom:
1 – Whoever dies from the plague is a martyr.
2 – Whoever drowns is a martyr.
3 – Whoever dies of pleurisy is a martyr.
4 – Whoever dies of abdominal illness is a martyr.
5 – Whoever dies by burning is a martyr.
6 – Whoever dies under a collapsed building is a martyr.
7 – A woman who dies in pregnancy is a martyr.” [45]
3112 – It is narrated from Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The sons of Ḥārith ibn ʿĀmir ibn Nawfal bought Hubayb. (However,) Hubayb had killed Ḥārith in the Battle of Badr. Hubayb remained as a captive with them for a while. They collectively decided on his execution. Hubayb asked for a razor from Ḥārith’s daughter to shave his pubic hair. She entrusted him with the razor. While the woman was inattentive, her younger son entered Hubayb’s room. When the woman came to Hubayb, she found him with the razor in his hand and the child sitting on his lap. The woman was filled with fear. Hubayb realized that she was afraid and said: “Are you afraid that I will kill the child? I am not going to kill him.” Abū Dāwūd said: Shuʿayb ibn Abū Ḥamza narrated this story from al-Zuhrī, who said: ʿUbaydullah ibn ʿIyāḍ informed me, and he was informed by Ḥārith’s daughter, that when they decided on Hubayb’s execution, Hubayb asked for a razor as a trust and she gave it to him. [46]
EXPLANATION
Hubayb (may Allah be pleased with him) was from the Anṣār. He was among those who were present with our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at the Battle of Badr. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had sent a detachment of ten as scouts, appointing ʿĀṣim ibn Thābit as their leader. When they reached between Mecca and ʿUsfān, they realized that the tribe of Banū Lihyān from the sons of Hudhayl intended them harm. They took refuge on a high hill. Banū Lihyān surrounded them and said, “Come down, let us make an agreement with you, we will not kill you.” The leader, ʿĀṣim, said, “I will not come down; I cannot surrender to the protection of the disbeliever.” Hubayb and two other companions surrendered. They were then sold as captives in Mecca. The sons of Ḥārith bought Hubayb. In order to take revenge for their father, they decided to execute him. Hubayb, not wanting to be executed without trimming his nails and shaving his pubic hair, asked for a razor from Ḥārith’s daughter and thus fulfilled these sunnahs.