Before embracing Islam, the Prophet’s companion Mus’ab ibn Umayr (RA) was a young man who lived a very luxurious life. Since he was the son of a wealthy family in Makkah, his father would buy and dress him in clothes worth two hundred dirhams. Being a young man, he grew up in immense affluence.
Since both of Mus’ab ibn Umayr’s parents were wealthy, he not only wore high-quality clothes but also applied the finest perfumes. If Mus’ab ibn Umayr had walked through a street, people could tell just by the lingering fragrance coming from that street.
During the early days of Islam, he secretly met the Prophet (peace be upon him) without his family’s knowledge, accepted Islam, and became a Muslim.
While he continued in this state, someone informed his parents about his secret. To prevent him from going to meet the Prophet (pbuh), Mus’ab ibn Umayr’s mother kept him tied up with iron chains inside the house.
He remained in that condition for a few days. One day, when an opportunity arose, he escaped without his family’s knowledge and joined the Companions who were migrating (Hijrah) to Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Later, he migrated from there to Madinah, spending his life in a state of complete detachment from worldly pleasures and in poverty.
Once, when the Prophet (pbuh) passed by the place where Mus’ab (RA) was, Mus’ab had only a single sheet of cloth over his body. Even that was torn in several places and patched up. One of those patches was made of leather instead of cloth. Reflecting upon his current state and comparing it to the luxurious life he lived before Islam, tears welled up in the eyes of the Prophet (pbuh).
During the Battle of Uhud, the standard (flag) of the Muhajireen (the emigrants) was placed in the hands of Mus’ab (RA). When the Muslims faced a temporary setback and began to scatter, he stood firmly in one place without budging, holding onto the flag.
A disbeliever approached him and, intending to make the flag fall to signal a crushing defeat of the Muslims to the people, struck and severed the hand that was holding the flag with his sword.
Mus’ab (RA) immediately grabbed the flag with his other hand. The attacker severed that hand as well. To prevent the flag from falling to the ground, he immediately held the flag tightly against his chest using the stumps of both his arms.
The attacker then struck him with an arrow, and he attained martyrdom (Shahadah). The flag fell to the ground only after his soul departed.
He did not let the flag fall as long as there was life in him. As soon as Mus’ab (RA) passed away and the flag fell, another Companion immediately picked it up.
When preparations were being made to bury Hazrat Mus’ab (RA), he had only a single sheet of cloth. It was not long enough to cover his entire body. If they covered his head, his feet became exposed; if they covered his feet, his head became exposed. The Prophet (pbuh) then instructed, “Cover his head with the cloth, and cover his feet with leaves and grass.”
The Prophet (pbuh) then recited the verse: “Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah…” (Surah Al-Ahzab: 23).
For the love of Allah and His Prophet (pbuh), he renounced all his worldly privileges, sacrificed his life, and finally departed from this world in a state where even his shroud (Kafan) was not long enough to cover him completely. This is indeed a deeply lesson-filled event for us.
