https://www.khutbah.info/abu-ubaydah-bin-al-jarrah/ Remembering the righteous servants of Allah the Almighty gives life to the hearts. Especially if they were the best of this ummah (nation) and lived during the period of revelation, were companions of the Messenger ﷺ and spread Islam. Let us consider some glimpses from the biography of one of them highlighting his virtues and qualities, his morals and asceticism, his striving and sacrifices, and his altruism and spending. He was one of the early Muslims. He accepted Islam before the Prophet ﷺ entered the home of Al Arqam bin Al Arqam. And he was from the emigrants. He participated in campaigns with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he lead the companions and those after them in significant campaigns. And it is sufficient for his virtue that the Prophet ﷺ gave him glad tidings of paradise.
إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ ,نَحْمَدُهُ ,وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ , وَنَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا ,مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ , وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ , وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ
Verily, all praise is for Allah. We praise Him, we seek His assistance and we ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Him from the evils of our selves. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide. Whoever He misguides, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger.
يَا أَيُّهَا الّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ – آل عمران:102
Al Imran 102 : O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam.
Oh people:
Remembering the righteous servants of Allah the Almighty gives life to the hearts. Especially if they were the best of this ummah (nation) and lived during the period of revelation, were companions of the Messenger ﷺ and spread Islam. Let us consider some glimpses from the biography of one of them highlighting his virtues and qualities, his morals and asceticism, his striving and sacrifices, and his altruism and spending.
He was one of the early Muslims. He accepted Islam before the Prophet ﷺ entered the home of Al Arqam bin Al Arqam. And he was from the emigrants. He participated in campaigns with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he lead the companions and those after them in significant campaigns. And it is sufficient for his virtue that the Prophet ﷺ gave him glad tidings of paradise. He is Abu Ubaydah Amer Bin al Jarrah the trustworthy guardian of this ummah (may Allah be pleased with him). Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah said:
إن لكل أمة أمينًا وإن أميننا -أيتها الأمة- أبو عبيدة بن الجراح . البخاري: 4380 مسلم 2420.
Truly, every ummah (nation) has a trustworthy guardian, and the trustworthy guardian of this ummah (nation) is Abu ‘Ubaydah bin Al-Jarrah.” [alBukhari 4380, Muslim 2420]
This companion had a great standing and high status with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. When Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) was asked whom the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would have place as a successor, she responded:
أبو بكر فقيل لها: من بعد أبي بكر ! قالت: عمر ثم قيل لها: من بعد عمر ! قالت: أبو عبيدة بن الجراح ثم انتهت إلى هذا. مسلم:2385.
Abu Bakr. It was said to her: Then whom after Abu Bakr? She said: `Umar. It was said to her. Then whom after `Umar? She said: Abu `Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah, and then ended with this. [Muslim 2385]
And when the Prophet ﷺ passed, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said on the Day of Saqeefah (when the Muhajoreen and Ansar met to discuss who would succeed the Prophet ﷺ):
قد رضيت لكم هذين الرجلين فبايعوا أيهما شئتم فأخذ بيد عمر ويد أبي عبيدة .
I approved these two men for you. So pledge allegiance to whichever one of them you like. Then he took hold of Omar’s hand and Abu Ubaydah’s hand.
Regarding his virtues, one day Omar bin al Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said to his companions: “Wish, wish…as for me I wish for a house filled with men like Abu Ubaydah bin Al Jarrah”
And Ubaydah did not reach this high status with Allah, with the Messenger ﷺ, with the companions (may Allah be pleased with them) except through his early acceptance of Islam, his sacrifice of everything valuable in the path of Allah, his ascetism in this worldly life, his good morals and qualities and giving preference to the religion of Allah Almighty over his personal interests.
As far as striving in the way of Allah, he witnessed all the campaigns with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. And when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed, Abu Ubaydah remained striving in the caliphate of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and the beginning of the caliphate of Omar (may Allah be pleased with him). He was even the commander of the army in the Yarmouk campaign.
And he had in his many years of striving in way of Allah numerous commendable stands and praiseworthy heroics. He was steadfast in Uhud with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when the people had fled. And he was the one who removed with his incisors (front teeth) two links of armor that had penetrated the cheek of the Prophet ﷺ. So his incisors fell out. He suffered for the sake of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, but in spite of the gap in his teeth, they were still pleasant looking and it was said: ” I never saw a gap in the teeth better than the gap of Abu Ubaydah”. This is just one example of Abu Ubaydah’s love for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his sacrifice for him in everything.
And he was sincere with Allah in regards to his alliances and enmities. And he was not just a pretender. Rather he turned Iman (faith) into a tangible reality when in the battle of Badr he confronted his father who was a polytheist. AbdAllah bin Showthab said: “The father of Abu Ubaydah kept trying to confront him on the day of Badr. So Abu Ubaydah kept moving away from him. When his father persisted, Abu Ubaydah finished him. Then Allah revealed the verse:
لا تَجِدُ قَوْماً يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ يُوَادُّونَ مَنْ حَادَّ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَلَوْ كَانُوا آبَاءَهُمْ أَوْ أَبْنَاءَهُمْ أَوْ إِخْوَانَهُمْ أَوْ عَشِيرَتَهُمْ أُولَئِكَ كَتَبَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الأِيمَانَ وَأَيَّدَهُمْ بِرُوحٍ مِنْهُ وَيُدْخِلُهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ أُولَئِكَ حِزْبُ اللَّهِ أَلا إِنَّ حِزْبَ اللَّهِ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ المجادلة:22
Al Mujaadala (58) 22: You will not find a people who believe in Allah and the Last Day having affection for those who oppose Allah and His Messenger, even if they were their fathers or their sons or their brothers or their kindred. Those – He has decreed within their hearts faith and supported them with spirit from Him. And We will admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally. Allah is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him – those are the party of Allah. Unquestionably, the party of Allah – they are the successful.
Indeed this is the Iman (faith) and Yaqeen (certainty of belief). So what about if giving preference to Allah’s religion over personal interests, desires and whims is added to it? And is this not only realized by the sincere servants of Allah Almighty?!
Musa bin Uqbah ( موسى بن عقبة ) narrated: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent reinforcement to ‘Amr ibn al-‘As in the campaign of Thaat al-Salaasil. So the Prophet assigned Abu Ubaydah as the leader of the reinforcement which consisted of emigrants and included Abu Bakr and Omar (may Allah be pleased with them). When they reached Amr bin Al ‘As, he said: I am your leader. The emigrants responded: rather you are the leader of your companions and our leader is Abu Ubaydah. Amr responded: Indeed you are a reinforcement that was sent to me. When Abu Ubaydah saw this – and he was a man of good character, gentle demeaner and a follower of the way and covenant of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ – he relinquished the leadership to ‘Amr.
And although Abu Ubaydah participated in many campaigns he was austere with regards to the worldly life as his concern was the afterlife. He did not save anything from the wealth. And his ascetism was genuine and not fabricated or contrived. And it was not an ascetism born out of shortage. Rather it was born out of means, wealth and surplus. For he was the leader of the Levant in the Caliphate of Omar (may Allah be pleased with him). When Omar (may Allah be pleased with him) went to the Levant to check up on the condition of the people he said to Abu Ubaydah: “Let us go to your home.” He responded: “And what will you do there? Do you wish to cry in response to my condition?” When he entered he did not see anything and he stated “where is your furniture? I do not see but a wool throw, an eating container and a drinking vessel while you are the leader ?! Abu Ubaydah responded: “I already told you oh Leader of the Faithful that you would cry over my situation. You should have sufficed with what was told to you about me.” Omar responded “This worldly life changed us all except for you oh Abu Ubaydah”.
So how magnificent were those great souls. They adhered to the Book of Allah Almighty and the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ. So they did not amass from this worldly life although it piled at their feet and they possessed it in their hands. And in this manner the world submitted to them.
أَقُولُ مَا تَسْمَعُونَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
I say what you have heard and I seek forgiveness from Allah for me and you from every sin. So seek forgives from Him, Verily He is Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
Second Khutbah
الحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ, وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ , وَ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَاْ إِلَهَ إِلَّاْ اَللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَاْشَرِيْكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدَاً عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُوْلُهُ
All praise is to Allah, and peace and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger.
Oh Muslims:
Be conscious of Allah Almighty and obey Him. For consciousness of Allah is the culmination of all matters. And the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not attain what they did except through the consciousness of Allah.
We hope that the news of these great men revives our hearts and we come to our senses. And that these great men become our role models and the role models of our children and the role models of those under our responsibility. So we take the path that they took. A path to Paradise that was mapped out by the Prophet ﷺ. And whoever seeks paradise by a path other than what they took has taken the wrong way.
Oh Allah we bear witness that we love the companions of your Prophet ﷺ. Oh Allah we come closer to you through that. So Allah be pleased with them and resurrect us in their group. And gather us with them in the gardens of bliss.
هَذَا وَصَلُّوا وَسَلِّمُوا عَلَى نَبِيِّكُم كَمَا أَمَرَكُمْ بِذلِكَ رَبُّكُمْ , فَقَالَ
I conclude with this and send prayers of blessings and peace upon your Prophet as your Lord commanded:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
Al Ahzaab (33) 56: Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [ Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [ Allah to grant him] peace.
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنا فِيمَنْ هَدَيْتَ وَعَافِنا فِيمَنْ عَافَيْتَ وَتَوَلَّنا فِيمَنْ تَوَلَّيْتَ وَبَارِكْ لنا فِيمَا أَعْطَيْتَ وَقِنا شَرَّ مَا قَضَيْتَ إِنَّكَ تَقْضِي وَلاَ يُقْضَى عَلَيْكَ وَإِنَّهُ لاَ يَذِلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْتَ تَبَارَكْتَ رَبَّنَا وَتَعَالَيْتَ
O Allah, guide us with those whom You have guided, grant us well-being among those You have granted well-being, be an ally to us along with those whom You are an ally to, and bless what You have bestowed upon us, and save us from the evil of what You have decreed. For verily You decree and none can decree over You. He whom You support can never be humiliated. Glory is to You, our Lord, You are Blessed and Exalted.
اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْنا مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ نَعْلَمْ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الشَّرِّ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْنا مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ نَعْلَمْ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ خَيْرِ مَا سَأَلَكَ عَبْدُكَ وَنَبِيُّكَ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا عَاذَ بِهِ عَبْدُكَ وَنَبِيُّكَ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ النَّارِ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ وَنَسْأَلُكَ أَنْ تَجْعَلَ كُلَّ قَضَاءٍ قَضَيْتَهُ لَنا خَيْرًا
O Allah, We ask You for all that is good, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we seek refuge with You from all evil, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we ask You for the good that Your servant and Prophet has asked You for, and we seek refuge with You from the evil from which Your servant and Prophet sought refuge. O Allah, we ask You for Paradise and for that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed, and we seek refuge in You from Hell and from that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed. And we ask You to make every decree that You decree concerning us good
عِبَادَ اللّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
Servants of Allah. Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.
اُذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ واشْكُرُوهُ يَزِدْكُمْ واسْتَغْفِرُوهُ يَغْفِرْ لكُمْ واتّقُوهُ يَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَمْرِكُمْ مَخْرَجًا وَأَقِمِ الصّلَاة
Remember Allah, the Great – He will remember you. Thank Him for His favors – He will increase you therein. And seek forgiveness from Him – He will forgive you. And be conscious of Him – He will provide you a way out of difficult matters. And, establish the prayer.
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