Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman
"If you wish you may consider yourself among the Muhajirin or, if you
wish, you may consider yourself one of the Ansar. Choose whichever is
dearer to you."
With these words, the Prophet, peace be upon him, addressed Hudhayfah
ibn al-Yaman when he met him for the first time in Makkah. How did Hudhayfah
come to have this choice'?
His father, al-Yaman was a Makkan from the tribe of Abs. He had killed
someone and had been forced to leave Makkah. He had settled down in Yathrib,
becoming an ally (halif) of the Banu al-Ash-hal and marrying into the
tribe. A son named Hudhayfah was born to him. The restrictions on his
returning to Makkah were eventually lifted and he divided his time between
Makkah and Yathrib but stayed more in Yathrib and was more attached to
it.
This was how Hudhayfah had a Makkan origin but a Yathribite upbringing.
When the rays of Islam began to radiate over the Arabian peninsula, a
delegation from the Abs tribe, which included al-Yaman, went to the Prophet
and announced their acceptance of Islam. That was before the Prophet migrated
to Yathrib.
Hudhayfah grew up in a Muslim household and was taught by both his mother
and father who were among the first persons from Yathrib to enter the
religion of God. He therefore became a Muslim before meeting the Prophet,
peace be upon him.
Hudhayfah longed to meet the Prophet. From an early age, he was keen
on following whatever news there was about him. The more he heard, the
more his affection for the Prophet grew and the more he longed to meet
him.
He eventually journeyed to Makkah, met the Prophet and put the question
to him, "Am I a muhajir or am I an Ansari, O Rasulullah?"
"If you wish you may consider yourself among the muhajirin, or if you
wish you may consider yourself one of the Ansar. Choose whichever is dearer
to you," replied the Prophet. "Well, I am an Ansari. O Rasulullah," decided
Hudhayfah.
At Madinah, after the Hijrah, Hudhayfah became closely attached to the
Prophet. He participated in all the military engagements except Badr.
Explaining why he missed the Battle of Badr, he said: "I would not have
missed Badr if my father and I had not been outside Madinah. The disbelieving
Quraysh met us and asked where we were going. We told them we were going
to Madinah and they asked whether we intended to meet Muhammad. We insisted
that we only wanted to go to Madinah. They allowed us to go only after
they extracted from us an undertaking not to help Muhammad against them
and not to fight along with them.
"When we came to the Prophet we told him about our undertaking to the
Quraysh and asked him what should we do. He said that we should ignore
the undertaking and seek God's help against them."
Hudhayfah participated in the Battle of Uhud with his father. The pressure
on Hudhayfah during the battle was great but he acquitted himself well
and emerged safe and sound. A rather different fate, however, awaited
his father.
Before the battle, the Prophet, peace be on him, left alYaman, Hudhayfah's
father, and Thabit ibn Waqsh with the other non-combatants including women
and children. This was because they were both quite old. As the fighting
grew fiercer, al-Yaman said to his friend: "You have no father (meaning
you have no cares). What are we waiting for? We both have only a short
time to live. Why don't we take our swords and join the Messenger of God,
peace be on him? Maybe, God will bless us with martyrdom beside His Prophet."
They quickly prepared for battle and were soon in the thick of the fighting.
Thabit ibn Waqsh was blessed with shahdah at the hands of the mushrikin.
The father of Hudhayfah, however was set upon by some Muslims who did
not recognize who he was. As they flayed him, Hudhayfah cried out: "My
father! My father! It's my father!"
No one heard him. The old man fell, killed in error by the swords of
his own brothers in faith. They were filled with pain and remorse. Grieved
as he was, Hudhayfah said to them: "May God forgive you for He is the
most Merciful of those who show mercy."
The Prophet, peace be on him, wanted diyah (compensation) to be paid
to Hudhayfah for the death of his father but Hudhayfah said: "He was simply
seeking shahadah and he attained it. O Lord, bear witness that I donate
the compensation for him to the Muslims."
Because of this attitude, Hudhayfah's stature grew in the eyes of the
Prophet, peace be on him. Hudhayfah had three qualities which particularly
impressed the Prophet: his unique intelligence which he employed in dealing
with difficult situations; his quick wittedness and spontaneous response
to the call of action, and his ability to keep a secret even under persistent
questioning.
A noticeable policy of the Prophet was to bring out and use the special
qualities and strengths of each individual companion of his. In deploying
his companions, he was careful to choose the right man for the right task.
This he did to excellent advantage in the case of Hudhayfah.
One of the gravest problems the Muslims of Madinah had to face was the
existence in their midst of hypocrites (munafiqun) particularly from among
the Jews and their allies. Although many of them had declared their acceptance
of Islam, the change was only superficial and they continued to plot and
intrigue against the Prophet and the Muslims.
Because of Hudhayfah's ability to keep a secret, the Prophet, peace be
on him, confided in him the names of the munafiqin. It was a weighty secret
which the Prophet did not disclose to any other off his companions. He
gave Hudhayfah the task of watching the movements of the munafiqin, following
their activities, and shielding the Muslims from the sinister danger they
represented. It was a tremendous responsibility. The munafiqin, because
they acted in secrecy and because they knew all the developments and plans
of the Muslims from within presented a greater threat to the community
than the outright hostility of the kuffar.
From this time onwards. Hudhayfah was called "The Keeper of the Secret
of the Messenger of Allah". Throughout his life he remained faithful to
his pledge not to disclose the names of the hypocrites. After the death
of the Prophet, the Khalifah often came-to him to seek his advice concerning
their movements and activities but he remained tight-lipped and cautious.
Umar was only able to find out indirectly who the hypocrites were. If
anyone among the Muslims died, Umar would ask:
"Has Hudhayfah attended his funeral prayer?"
If the reply was 'yes', he would perform the prayer. If the reply was
'no', he became doubtful about the person and refrained from performing
the funeral prayer for him.
Once Umar asked Hudhayfah: "Is any of my governors a munafiq?" "One,"
replied Hudhayfah. "Point him out to me," ordered Umar. "That I shall
not do," insisted Hudhayfah who later said that shortly after their conversation
Umar dismissed the person just as if he had been guided to him.
Hudhayfah's special qualities were made use of by the Prophet, peace
be on him, at various times. One of the most testing of such occasions,
which required the use of Hudhayfah's intelligence and his presence of
mind, was during the Battle of the Ditch. The Muslims on that occasion
were surrounded by enemies. The seige they had been placed under had dragged
on. The Muslims were undergoing severe hardship and difficulties. They
had expended practically all their effort and were utterly exhausted.
So intense was the strain that some even began to despair.
The Quraysh and their allies, meanwhile, were not much better off. Their
strength and determination had been sapped. A violent wind overturned
their tents, extinguished their fires and pelted their faces and eyes
with gusts of sand and dust.
In such decisive moments in the history of warfare, the side that loses
is the one that despairs first and the one that wins is the one that holds
out longer. The role of army intelligence in such situations often proves
to be a crucial factor in determining the outcome of the battle.
At this stage of the confrontation the Prophet, peace be on him, felt
he could use the special talents and experience of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman.
He decided to send Hudhayfah into the midst of the enemy's positions under
cover of darkness to bring him the latest information on their situation
and morale before he decided on his next move.
Let us now leave Hudhayfah to relate what happened on this mission fraught
with danger and even death.
"That night, we were all seated in rows. Abu Sufyan and his men - the
mushrikun of Makkah - were in front of us. The Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayzah
were at our rear and we were afraid of them because of our wives and children.
The night was stygian dark. Never before was there a darker night nor
a wind so strong. So dark was the night that no one could see his fingers
and the blast of the wind was like the peel of thunder.
"The hypocrites began to ask the Prophet for permission to leave, saying,
'Our houses are exposed to the enemy.' Anyone who asked the Prophet's
permission to leave was allowed to go. Many thus sneaked away until we
were left with about three hundred men.
"The Prophet then began a round of inspection passing us one by one until
he reached me. I had nothing to protect me from the cold except a blanket
belonging to my wife which scarcely reached my knees. He came nearer to
me as I lay crouching on the ground and asked: 'Who is this?' 'Hudhayfah,'
replied. 'Hudhayfah?' he queried as I huddled myself closer to the ground
too afraid to stand up because of the intense hunger and cold. 'Yes, O
Messenger of God,' I replied. 'Something is happening among the people
(meaning the forces of Abu Sufyan). Infiltrate their encampment and bring
me news of what's happening,' instructed the Prophet.
"I set out. At that moment I was the most terrified person of all and
felt terribly cold. The Prophet, peace be on him, prayed: 'O Lord, protect
him from in front and from behind, from his right and from his left, from
above and from below.'
"By God, no sooner had the Prophet, peace be on him, completed his supplication
than God removed from my stomach all traces of fear and from my body all
the punishing cold. As I turned to go, the Prophet called me back to him
and said: 'Hudhayfah, on no account do anything among the people (of the
opposing forces) until you come back to me.'
'Yes,' I replied.
"I went on, inching my way under cover of darkness until I penetrated
deep into the mushrikin camp and became just like one of them. Shortly
afterwards, Abu Sufyan got up and began to address his men:
'O people of the Quraysh, I am about to make a statement to you which
I fear would reach Muhammad. Therefore, let every man among you look and
make sure who is sitting next to him...'
"On hearing this, I immediately grasped the hand of the man next to me
and asked, 'Who are you?' (thus putting him on the defensive and clearing
myself). "Abu Sufyan went on:
'O people of the Quraysh, by God, you are not in a safe and secure place.
Our horses and camels have perished. The Banu Qurayzah have deserted us
and we have had unpleasant news about them. We are buffered by this bitterly
cold wind. Our fires do not light and our uprooted tents offer no protection.
So get moving. For myself, I am leaving.'
"He went to his camel, untethered and mounted it. He struck it and it
stood upright. If the Messenger of God, peace be on him, had not instructed
me to do nothing until I returned to him, I would have killed Abu Sufyan
then and there with an arrow.
"I returned to the Prophet and found him standing on a blanket performing
Salat. When he recognized me, he drew me close to his legs and threw one
end of the blanket over me. I informed him of what had happened. He was
extremely happy and joyful and gave thanks and praise to
Hudhayfah lived in constant dread of evil and corrupting influences.
He felt that goodness and the sources of good in this life were easy to
recognize for those who desired good. But it was evil that was deceptive
and often difficult to perceive and combat.
He became something of a great moral philosopher. He always warned people
to struggle against evil with all their faculties, with their heart, hands
and tongue. Those who stood against evil only with their hearts and tongues,
and not with their hands, he considered as having abandoned a part of
truth. Those who hated evil only in their hearts but did not combat it
with their tongues and hands forsook two parts of truth and those who
neither detested nor confronted evil with their hearts, tongues or hands
he considered as physically alive but morally dead.
Speaking about 'hearts' and their relationship to guidance and error,
he once said: "There are four kinds of hearts. The heart that is encased
or atrophied. That is the heart of the kafir or ungrateful disbeliever.
The heart that is shaped into thin layers. That is the heart of the munafiq
or hypocrite. The heart that is open and bare and on which shines a radiant
light. That is the heart of the mumin or the believer.
Finally there is the heart in which there is both hypocrisy and faith.
Faith is like a tree which thrives with good water and hypocrisy is like
an abscess which thrives on pus and blood. Whichever flourishes more,
be it the tree of faith or the abscess of hypocrisy, wins control of the
heart."
Hudhayfah's experience with hypocrisy and his efforts to combat it gave
a touch of sharpness and severity to his tongue. He himself realized this
and admitted it with a noble courage: "I went to the Prophet, peace be
on him and said: 'O Messenger of God, I have a tongue which is sharp and
cutting against my family and I fear that this would lead me to hell-fire.'
And the Prophet, peace be upon him, said to me: 'Where do you stand with
regard to istighfar - asking forgiveness from Allah? I ask Allah for forgiveness
a hundred times during the day. "
A pensive man like Hudhayfah, one devoted to thought, knowledge and reflection
may not have been expected to perform feats of heroism in battlefields.
Yet Hudhayfah was to prove himself one of the foremost Muslim military
commanders in the expansion of Islam into Iraq. He distinguished himself
at Hamadan, ar-Rayy, ad-Daynawar, and at the famous Battle of Nihawand.
For the encounter at Nihawand against the Persian forces, Hudhayfah was
placed second in command by Umar over the entire Muslim forces which numbered
some thirty thousand. The Persian forces outnumbered them by five to one
being some one hundred and fifty thousand strong. The first commander
of the Muslim army, an-Numan ibn Maqran, fell early in the battle. The
second in command, Hudhayfah, immediately took charge of the situation,
giving instructions that the death of the commander should not be broadcast.
Under Hudhayfah's daring and inspiring leadership, the Muslims won a decisive
victory despite tremendous odds.
Hudhayfah was made governor of important places like Kufa and Ctesiphon
(al-Madain). When the news of his appointment as governor of Ctesiphon
reached its inhabitants, crowds went out to meet and greet this famous
companion of the Prophet of whose piety and righteousness they had heard
so much. His great role in the conquests of Persia was already a legend.
As the welcoming party waited, a lean, somewhat scrawny man with dangling
feet astride a donkey approached. In his hand he held a loaf of bread
and some salt and he ate as he went along. When the rider was already
in their midst they realized that he was Hudhayfah, the governor for whom
they were waiting. They could not contain their surprise. What manner
of man was this! They could however be excused for not recognizing him
for they were used to the style, the pomp and the grandeur of Persian
rulers.
Hudhayfah carried on and people crowded around him. He saw they were
expecting him to speak and he cast a searching look at their faces. Eventually,
he said: "Beware of places of fitnah and intrigue." "And what," they asked,
"are places of intrigue?" He replied: "The doors of rulers where some
people go and try to make the ruler or governor believe lies and praise
him for (qualities) he does not possess."
With these words, the people were prepared for what to expect from their
new governor. They knew at once that there was nothing in the world that
he despised more than hypocrisy.
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