The Story of Mus'ab ibn Umair - Khutbah by Ustadh Farzan Parupia

The Story of Mus'ab ibn Umair

There's a story of a companion of the Messenger ﷺ. And it's a very beautiful story and it's a powerful story. And I'd like to relate this story to you all before we get into the topic that I want to discuss today in this brief khutbah, in this brief reminder for myself and for all of you, inshallah. So this companion, whose name I'll mention at the end — some of you might know who he is as I go along with the story.

A Young Man of Wealth and Status

This companion, before he became a Muslim, was a very young man and he was very wealthy. His family was extremely wealthy and he wore the best types of clothes, the best types of perfume — branded clothes, branded shoes, everything you name it. And people looked up to him for the fashion. Whatever he was wearing, people aimed to wear the same thing, because he wore the best clothes.

And so this man, he found out about this Muhammad ﷺ who was spreading this message in Mecca. And he says, you know what, I'm listening to this message, I want to know about it, I'm curious. So he becomes curious, and he sneaks into Dar al-Arqam once — when the Messenger ﷺ is giving a khutbah, giving a dars to the companions, to the Muslims. And when he hears it, he says, this is the truth. This is what I've been looking for all along. And so immediately, right then and there, he accepts Islam. He says the shahada.

Hiding His Faith — and the Price He Paid

After he becomes Muslim, he doesn't want people to know. He doesn't want his tribe to know, he doesn't want the people from where he's from to know, because there's going to be a lot of backlash. People are going to be like, why did you become Muslim, why did you do this, what's going on? And so he wanted to hide — not only from his tribe, but specifically from his mother. Because his mother was someone of high status, she was very wealthy as well. And he specifically wanted to hide from her because, you know, anybody can get mad at you, but you don't want to be on your mom's bad side. You don't want your mom to get mad at you.

But days went by and eventually some of his tribe members noticed he was a bit different. They saw him going to Dar al-Arqam once, to the masjid, to pray. And so they confronted him in front of his mother. They said, yeah, he's praying like Muhammad — what's going on? Are you a Muslim or something? And he said, yes, I've accepted Islam.

And his mother was so furious, so angry, that she wanted to kill him. She wanted to get a spear and stab him right then and there — but she couldn't. She couldn't because she loved him too much. But she said, okay, tie him up. I'm so angry with him, just tie him up and put him in our yard and leave him there. We're going to have guards there so he can't escape. And so he's tied up so tightly he can't even move. He can't do anything — he can't even scratch himself. That's how tightly he's tied up.

And so there comes a time where the guards either fell asleep or weren't paying attention, and he escapes. He escapes and goes to Abyssinia. A few months go by and eventually he comes back to Mecca. And his mother finds him again. This time she says, I'm going to tie you up again and put guards on you again. He says, okay, you can do that. But this time, whoever you put to guard me, I'm going to kill them. His mother sees that he is very, very serious. So she says, okay, you know what, I'll just let him go.

But as he's leaving her house, she says, all this wealth that you have — everything, all your clothes, everything — it's actually mine. It belongs to your parents, not you. So if you want to accept Islam and go along with it, then you have to leave all your wealth. He says, that's fine. He keeps walking.

As he walks out of the door into the front yard, his uncle is there. His uncle approaches him and says, do you know the clothes you're wearing right now? These don't belong to you either. These belong to your father, your late father who passed away. So you have to take these off as well. So he has to leave his own house naked, covering his shame as he walks out.

He goes to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and is given a cloth so he can at least cover himself.

Dedicating His Life to Islam

This man — who at the beginning of the story had everything anyone could want, all the wealth and luxury anyone could wish for — left his luxurious lifestyle just for the sake of Islam. Just for the sake of لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ. And after this point, he dedicates his life to studying with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ — to studying the Qur'an and becoming a better Muslim.

And there comes a time where the Messenger of Allah ﷺ wants to send someone to Medina — to make dawah to those people. Because we know what's coming later in the story. The Muslims eventually had to migrate to Medina. But at this time, the Prophet ﷺ wanted to introduce Islam to those people first. And there were so many companions he could have chosen — Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, Umar ibn al-Khattab, the senior companions. Yet he chooses Mus'ab ibn Umair.

For a few reasons. The first is that he was very young, so he could relate to many people. The second is that he was known for a very, very beautiful recitation of the Qur'an — he could go there and mesmerize people with it. People, when they listened, were touched, in awe of his recitation. And he had also already proved himself. He had already sacrificed so much. And so the Prophet ﷺ said, you know what, I'm going to choose Mus'ab ibn Umair.

The Dawah in Medina

And while in Medina, he starts making dawah. He starts introducing Islam to many, many different tribes. And the chiefs of those tribes — some of them get very annoyed. They're like, who is this guy spreading this religion, this message everywhere? One day specifically, he's giving a dars to a group of people, introducing Islam to a tribe. And this chief comes with a spear and says, if you don't stop doing this, I'm going to kill you.

And you know, most of us, if that happened, we'd respond very differently. But look at the intelligence and patience of Mus'ab ibn Umair. He says, you know what, just let me introduce you to it as well. Let me tell you about what I'm presenting to them. And if you like it, if you accept it, fine. If you don't, then I'll leave. The chief says okay, puts his spear down on the ground, and starts listening. And Mus'ab ibn Umair starts reciting Qur'an and telling him about Islam. And the chief says, this is the truth. This is what I've been searching for as well. And so he accepts Islam. He says لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ.

And then he says, I know one particular chief — if he accepts Islam, then multitudes of other people will accept Islam as well. And so he brings that man to Mus'ab ibn Umair, and he accepts Islam too. And so through Mus'ab ibn Umair, Islam was introduced to all of Medina. And when the Messenger ﷺ and the companions eventually had to migrate to Medina, they were welcomed with open hearts — because those people were already Muslims. This was the doing of Mus'ab ibn Umair.

The Battle of Uhud — His Final Stand

And then finally, the last part of the story. In the Battle of Uhud, the Muslims made a mistake — they left their guard, they left their post on the mountain, and because of that, the disbelievers were free to attack from behind. And so in this chaotic situation, where the Muslims are being killed left and right, Mus'ab ibn Umair was in charge of holding the flag of Islam.

They say that he resembled the Messenger ﷺ very closely — his complexion and everything was very similar. And the disbelievers, the main person they were trying to kill was the Messenger. So they were pushing through the lines of the Muslims toward him. And Mus'ab picked up the flag and started yelling, Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! — and of course, when people see the flag and hear the chanting, they think it is the Messenger, because he resembled him so closely.

Everyone starts converging toward him. He is holding the flag. One of the enemies comes and chops off his right arm — and the flag falls. So he picks it up with his left arm. And he kept saying one very specific, beautiful thing:

"Muhammad is nothing but a Messenger. Messengers have come and passed before him as well."

He kept saying this. And eventually his left arm was cut off as well. And then — what could he do? He was speared. And he passed away on the battlefield as a shaheed.

After the battle was over, the Muslims were looking at the shuhada, making du'a for those who had passed away, and going from body to body. When they came upon his body, they all broke down in tears. They all started weeping. And it was because of two things — first, the state his body was in because of the battle. And second, because when they tried to bury him, they saw that he was wearing only one cloth. Just one cloth.

They started crying. Because this was a man who once wore the best clothes, imported shoes, perfumes, cologne — everything. And he had left all of that for the sake of Islam. And when they tried to cover him with the cloth — when they put it over his head, his feet would show. And when they covered his feet, his head would show. And so the Messenger ﷺ told his companions: put the cloth over his head, and cover his feet with some grass.

SubhanAllah. Look at the situation of Mus'ab ibn Umair as he passes away — compared to who he was before he even became Muslim.

The Lesson: Are We Doing Our Part?

And why am I sharing this story? Why did I relate this story to you all? Because Mus'ab ibn Umair is just one of many examples. This wasn't even his full story — this was just the abridged version. There is so much more that he did in his life. So much more that other companions did in their lives. And the Messenger ﷺ and those around him — they struggled. Who did they do it for? For what purpose? It was for their community. It was for the Ummah, for the rest of the Muslims. And not only for the Muslims who were there at that time — it was for us. And we fail to realize that a lot of the time.

We hear the stories of these great people, and one thing is that we tend to forget that we are Muslim because of what they did, because of their struggles. The second thing is that they did this for us — for their communities. But these people were also human. These people weren't angels or anything like that. And a lot of times we think of these things as fairy tales — we hear a story and we're like, mashallah, you know, and then we just carry on with our lives. But we have to realize that these were people, and we can be like them as well. We have potential.

And that's why, in the verse from Surah at-Tin, Allah says:

"We have certainly created the human being in the best manner, in the best fashion."

And you think — what does this mean? What does it mean that He created us in the best manner? It means that those other people we hear about — they were also people. They were also human beings. And this is an extreme example. We're not being asked to go out to the battlefield or do what all these companions and prophets did. We know about Islamophobia, all of this is going on around us, but we're not being physically attacked at our homes. Most of us — that's not happening to us. But that was the extreme situation back then.

And we're taught these lessons and hear these stories to serve as reminders. It's like — yeah, look how much they did. What's the least I can do? At least help out my community. Each one of us has potential — but are we doing our part? That's the main question I want you to take from this khutbah. If you leave today and you were sleeping or texting or whatever — the one thing I want you to remember is: are we doing our part? Am I doing my part? Are each one of you doing your part? To help out the community, to stand for Islam, to stand for Muslims, in any way, shape, or form. Are we reaching the potential that Allah describes — that we are the best creation? Are we living up to that challenge?

The Masjid: More Than Just Prayer

When we think about where these great companions and prophets started — think of the time of the Messenger ﷺ. Everything revolved around the masjid. People came to the masjid for everything. And sadly and unfortunately, nowadays, many of us as Muslims still have sort of a misconception that masjids are just for prayer — and that's it.

And yet, masjids traditionally have always been for many other activities. The masjid is a community center. The masjid is a learning center, it's a school. The masjid is a place for people to unite. The masjid is a place where you can just chill, just relax — why not? People took naps in the masjid. The sahaba wrestled in the masjid — why not? Have fun in the masjid. And of course, prayer comes along with that. Learning, reading the Qur'an, reciting — all of that. Everything comes with it. But we have to remember all these other things as well.

Because nowadays, the challenge for us is definitely with our youth. Many of us — the older generation — we can come to the masjid for a lecture, for prayer, and we're all good. But for the youth, for the younger generation who like to have a good time — when they come into the masjid and an uncle screams at them, "why are your pants too low?" or "where's your kufi?" — these types of things that happen in the masjid nowadays. A child is running around, or a little baby, and we just get infuriated. These things are not from the Sunnah. These are not from what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did.

A Blessed Community — Are We Grateful?

And so we have to realize — and alhamdulillah, we are blessed to live in this community in Dallas. It's unbelievable. People will come to Dallas from all around the country, all around the world — New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, wherever you name it — and they'll say, man, our community isn't like this. A lot of people even decide to move to Dallas. And mashallah, our Muslim population here is growing.

And yet many of us just take it for granted. We sit here on Fridays and we hear a reminder, but throughout the week when we hear about a class that's going on, about a program or a conference, or even a weekly halaqah after Isha — just sit for 10 minutes and listen — we don't want anything to do with it. We just hear it and let it go.

And especially in this community in East Plano, we're really blessed because there are so many activities going on. There's social services, there's dawah, there's youth activities. We have all these chances to contribute — but are we doing our part? Are we getting involved?

A Simple Commitment: Come to the Masjid More

The final action point I want to leave you with is this: make a commitment to come to the masjid more often. To get more involved. And if you want any single reason to come to the masjid — if not for yourself — at least do it for your children. At least do it for the youth. Because that was the mindset of the great people who made an impact in society. That was their vision — they wanted a better place for their youth, a better place for their children. A place where their children could be confident in the deen, practice their deen, and spread it to others, far and wide. That was their mission.

So if you want even a single reason — do it for your children. Come to the masjid. And not even every night — that's a challenge for all of us. Fine. Once a month at least. You come for Jumu'ah — everyone comes for Jumu'ah. Why not add just one more? By coming once a month on family night.

Here in our community, on the first Friday of every month, we have family night. You come and you just enjoy time with the people. No volunteer work necessary. You don't have to do anything. You sit, you get food, you eat, you talk, and you relax. That's it. And then you pray. Is that a challenge? I don't think it should be.

There have been times where I've been standing on a Friday night, just standing in the parking lot, looking around — looking at the children playing basketball, looking at the women talking to each other and enjoying their conversations, looking at the men just enjoying themselves and of course eating a lot — and sometimes it almost brings me to tears. Because I'm like, subhanAllah, how blessed are we to live in this community?

And yet, even on family night — even on the night where it's all about having fun and relaxing with everyone — we only get 100, 150 people. Out of how many families do we have in our community? We have to get involved. We have to participate. Even the least thing — just come and enjoy some food with the community. That's it. And then from there, once you get an attachment to the masjid, once you start bonding with others and developing relationships, you'll automatically find that you want to come to the masjid. Your children will say, "Dad, mom, just take me to the masjid — I just want to go, I want to see my friends, I just want to say salam to them."

So let's do that. Let's make a commitment to do that from now on, inshallah. Let's use this as a reminder to improve ourselves and develop that connection with the masjid — not only for ourselves, but inshallah for our families and our communities.

Du'a

May Allah give us all a strong connection with the masjid. May Allah give us the ability to take the sahaba and the companions and everyone who came before as role models for ourselves. May Allah help us act on what they taught us and the lessons that they gave us, and help us be role models for our children. May Allah give our youth and our children the ability and the strength to deal with the problems that are around them. May Allah forgive us for any sins that we may have committed, and may He develop a strong relationship within us and give us the ability to make this commitment to the masjid — to get involved in the activities, and to reach our potential, inshallah.