A Few Good Men

A Few Good Men

September 05, 2006

The Messenger of Allah sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam said: "Real men are as rare as a reliable strong camel that can endure the burden of long trips; you can hardly find one in a hundred." (Bukhari)

In one of the houses of Madinah, 'Umar ibn Al-Khattab radhiallahu 'anhu was sitting with a group of his companions. He asked them: "Make a wish." One of them said, "I wish to have as much gold as would fill this whole house, so that I could spend it in Jihad."

Then again 'Umar asked: "Make a wish." Another man said, "I wished that this house was full of jewels and pearls so that I could spend it all in Jihad and charity for the sake of Allah."

'Umar asked for the third time: "Make a wish." His companions said: "We don't know what to say, O leader of the believers."

Thereupon 'Umar said, "I wish that this house was full of men like Abu 'Ubaydah Ibn Al-Jarrah, Mu'adh bin Jabal and Salim who works for Abu Hudhayfah in order to use them to spread the word of Allah."

'Abdullah ibn Mas'ood radhiallahu 'anhu was frail man and once, one day his legs became uncovered. Some of the companions saw this and laughed at thin legs. The Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam said: "You may laugh about his thin legs, but I swear by Him in Whose Hand my soul is, they will be heavier than Mount Uhud on the scales (on the Day of Judgement)."

Khalid ibn Al-Waleed radhiallahu 'anhu surrounded Al-Heerah and requested supplies from Abu Bakr radhiallahu 'anhu, who only sent him Al-Qa'qaa' ibn 'Amr At-Tameemi and said: "An army having men like Al-Qa'qaa' will never be defeated."

Abu Bakr radhiallahu 'anhu also used to say, "The mere voice of Al-Qa'qaa' in the army is better than a thousand fighters."

When 'Amr ibn Al-'Aas radhiallahu 'anhu requested supplies from 'Umar radhiallahu 'anhu during the Islamic conquest of Egypt, 'Umar wrote: "I have sent you (the equivalent of) four thousand men; four men each of whom are equal to a thousand others: Az-Zubayr Ibn Al-'Awwaam, Al-Miqdaad Ibn 'Amr, 'Ubaadah Ibn As-Saamit and Maslamah Ibn Makhlad."

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