THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE COMPANION MUADH IBN JABAL

Muadh was a young man living in Medina when the city was still known as Yathrib. He was introduced to Islam by Musab ibn Umayr, the man Prophet Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, sent to Yathrib well before the mass migration of the Muslims from Mecca to Yathrib.  Musab was essentially Prophet Muhammad’s ambassador, and his mission was to teach a small group of believers who had pledged allegiance to Islam.  However, the light of Islam was spreading rapidly in Yathrib, and among those newcomers to the fledgling nation was Muadh ibn Jabal, a young man with dark eyes and black curly hair.

When Muadh was around 17 years of age, he was among the seventy-two people from Yathrib who journeyed to Mecca to meet Prophet Muhammad. At this time, the second Aqabah pledge was made, and Muadh was one of the believers who clasped the hands of Prophet Muhammad pledging allegiance to him, vowing to support and defend him at any cost. When Muadh returned to Yathrib, he, with others around his own age, formed a group to remove and destroy many idols around the city. As a consequence of this, a prominent man in Yathrib, Amr ibn al-Jumuh, embraced Islam.

About one year later, Prophet Muhammad took up residence in Yathrib, and Muadh tried to stay in his company as much as possible.  He listened carefully and tried to emulate the Prophet.  This behavior enabled Muadh to become very knowledgeable in all aspects of Islam.  His knowledge and eloquence became well known and respected, even though he was relatively young.

Prophet Muhammad recognized his knowledge and mentioned him often.  He said, "Learn the recitation of the Quran from four people, Ibn Masood, Salim, the freed slave of Hudhaifah, Ubayy, and Muadh ibn Jabal."[1]

In another saying, Muadh is mentioned among some of the most learned men in the history of Islam. "The most merciful person from my nation, to my nation is Abu Bakr; the sternest of them regarding God’s commands is Umar; the shyest is Uthman; the most knowledgeable regarding the recitation of the Quran is Ubayy ibn Kab; the most dutiful is Zaid ibn Thabit and the most knowledgeable of them as regards the permissible and the impermissible is Muadh ibn Jabal..."[2]

Among his many achievements, Muadh was one of six men who collected the Quran while Prophet Muhammad was still alive.[3]  Due to his vast knowledge, he was appointed to teach the Meccans that converted to Islam en masse after the liberation of Mecca.

After Prophet Muhammad had returned to Yathrib, now known as Medina, messengers came to him from Yemen. They informed him that many people in Yemen had become Muslim and requested that he send someone to teach and instruct them. Prophet Muhammad organized a group of missionaries and made Muadh their leader. A fitting task for the man who Prophet Muhammad called, the man who will lead the scholars into Paradise.

Prophet Muhammad’s advice to Muadh is still used today as a guide on introducing Islam to others.  Muadh was instructed to teach Islam in gradual steps, starting with the most important beliefs, the testimony of faith and monotheism, and moving on to the pillars of prayer and charity.

"Verily, you are coming to People of the Book, so call them to testify there is no deity but Allah and I am the Messenger of Allah. If they accept that, then teach them that God has obligated five prayers in each day and night. If they accept that, then teach them that God as obligated charity to be taken from the rich and given to the poor. If they accept that, beware not to take from the best of their wealth. Be on guard from the supplication of the oppressed, for there is no barrier between it and God."[4]

During the preparations for Muadh’s trip, he and Prophet Muhammad discussed how he (Muadh) would decide judgments and handle any disputes.  Muadh’s answer was concise and is considered best practice in any Islamic society. He replied, "‘I will refer to the Quran.’ The Prophet then asked, ‘What will you do if you do not find the decree you are looking for in the Quran?’ Muadh answered, ‘I will refer to your Sunnah.’ The Prophet then asked, ‘But what will you do if you do not find a decree even in my Sunnah?’ Muadh answered, ‘I will judge between people using reasoning.’"[5]

Both these sayings about Muadh’s journey to Yemen are very well known. The first explains how to call people to Islam, and the second explains how to judge between people and make rulings. Prophet Muhammad sent Muadh on his mission warning him that it might be the last time he saw him (Prophet Muhammad) alive.[6] Muadh wept and with a mixture of sadness and hope he left his beloved Prophet and went to live in Yemen, staying there for some years.

Muadh was known to be a generous man. He would regularly give all his money to anyone who needed help. In Yemen, he helped to shape a well-ordered Muslim community. One year, when Umar ibn al-Khattab was the leader of the Muslim nation, Muadh sent one-third of the charitable donations of Yemen to Medina. This action upset Umar, and he admonished Muadh, saying that he was sent to take from the rich and give to the poor, not to be a tax-collector. To this, Muadh replied, "I would not send you anything had I found someone to take it from me." The next year, Muadh sent half of the charity from Yemen for the same reason. And the year after that, he sent all of the charity from Yemen to Medina, saying that he did not find a single person in Yemen who was eligible for the collected charity.[7]

Later in Umar’s caliphate, Muadh was sent to Syria to advise and teach. When Abu Ubaidah, the governor of Syria and a close friend of Muadh’s, died, Umar ibn al-Khattab assigned Muadh to take his place as governor. Within a few months of his appointment, Muadh fell ill. It is said that when he understood that he was dying, he turned to face Mecca and said, "Welcome death, you are long-awaited and beloved."[8] - islamreligion.com

FOOTNOTES:

[1]Saheeh Bukhari

[2]Ibn Majah

[3]Saheeh Bukhari

[4]Saheeh Bukhari, Muslim and others.

[5]At-Tirmidhi

[6]Rijal Hawla Ar-Rasul (Men Around the Messenger). Khalid Muhammad Khalid.

[7]Narration 1912 (p. 710), (The Book of Revenue) Kitab al-Amal of Imam Abu Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Salam.

[8]Men Around the Messenger.

7 REASONS WHY GOD IS WORTHY OF WORSHIP (PART 4 OF 6)

# 3 God provides us with innumerable favours

"And if you should [try to] count the favours of God, you could not enumerate them.  Indeed mankind is [generally] most unjust and ungrateful." (Quran 14:34)

We should be eternally grateful to God because we could never thank Him for His blessings.  The heart is an appropriate example to illustrate this point.  The human heart beats around 100,000 times a day, which is approximately 37,000,000 times a year.  If we were to live up to the age of 75, the number of heartbeats would reach 2,759,400,000.  How many of us have even counted that number of heartbeats? No one ever has.  It is actually impossible to count that many heartbeats.  Firstly, for the first few years of your life you cannot count.  Already there’s a few years of backlog.  Secondly, you cannot count your heartbeats while you are sleeping.  To be able to count a lifetime’s worth of heartbeats, you would have had to start counting each heartbeat from the day you were born and while you were asleep.  This would interfere with your ability to live a normal life, as you would always be counting every time your heart started a new beat.  As a practical matter it is impossible.  However, every heartbeat is precious to us.  Anyone of us would sacrifice a mountain of gold to ensure that our hearts function properly to keep us alive.  Yet we forget and deny the One who created our hearts and enables them to function.  This illustration forces us to conclude that we must be grateful to God, and gratitude is a form of worship.  The above discussion just refers to heartbeats, so imagine the gratitude we must express for all the other blessings God has given us.  From this perspective anything other than a heartbeat is a bonus.  God has given us favours we cannot enumerate, and if we could count them we would have to thank Him for the ability to do so.

# 4 If we love ourselves, we must love God

Loving God is a fundamental aspect of worship.  There are many types of love and one of these includes self-love.  This occurs due to the desire to prolong our existence, feel pleasure and avoid pain, as well as the need to satisfy our human needs and motivations.  We all have this natural love for ourselves because we want to be happy and content.  The psychologist Erich Fromm argued that loving oneself is not a form of arrogance or egocentricity.  Rather, self-love is about caring, taking responsibility and having respect for ourselves.  This type of love is necessary in order to love others.  If we cannot love ourselves, how then can we love other people? There is nothing closer to us than our own selves; if we cannot care for and respect ourselves, how then can we care for and respect others? Loving ourselves is a form of ‘self-empathy’.  We connect with our own feelings, thoughts and aspirations.  If we cannot connect with our own selves, how then can we empathise and connect with others? Eric Fromm echoes this idea by saying that love "implies that respect for one’s own integrity and uniqueness, love for an understanding of one’s own self, cannot be separated from respect and love and understanding for another individual."[1]

If a person’s love for himself is necessary, this should lead him to love the One who made him.  Why? Because God created the physical causes and means for human beings to achieve happiness and pleasure, and avoid pain.  God has freely given us every precious moment of our existence, yet we do not earn or own these moments.  The great theologian Al-Ghazali aptly explains that if we love ourselves we must love God:

"Therefore, if man’s love for himself be necessary, then his love for Him through whom, first his coming-to-be, and second, his continuance in his essential being with all his inward and outward traits, his substance and his accidents, occur must also be necessary.  Whoever is so besotted by his fleshy appetites as to lack this love neglects his Lord and Creator.  He possesses no authentic knowledge of Him; his gaze is limited to his cravings and to things of sense."[2]

# 5 God is The-Loving, and His love is the purest form of love

God is The-Loving.  He has the purest form of love.  This should make anyone want to love Him, and loving Him is a key part of worship.  Imagine if I were to tell you that there was this person who was the most loving person ever, and that no other love could match his love; wouldn’t that instil a strong desire to get to know this person, and eventually love him too? God’s love is the purest and most intense form of love; therefore, any sane person would want to love him too.

Given that the English word for love encompasses a range of meanings, the best way to elaborate on the Islamic conception of God’s love is to look into the actual Quranic terms used to describe Divine love: His mercy (rahmah), His special mercy (raheem) and His special love (muwadda).  By understanding these terms and how they relate to the Divine nature, our hearts will learn to love God.

Mercy

It is said that another word for love is mercy.  One of God’s names is The-Merciful; the Arabic word used is Ar-Rahmaan.  This English translation does not fully represent the depth and intensity that the meaning of this word carries.  The name Ar-Rahmaan has three major connotations: the first is that God’s mercy is an intense mercy; the second is that His mercy is an immediate mercy; and the third is a mercy so powerful that nothing can stop it.  God’s mercy encompasses all things and He prefers guidance for people.  In God’s book, the Quran, He says,

"…but My mercy encompasses all things…." (Quran 7:156)

"It is the Lord of Mercy who taught the Quran." (Quran 5:1 & 2)

In the above verse, God says He is The-Merciful, which can be understood as the "Lord of Mercy", and that He taught the Quran.  This is a linguistic indication to highlight that the Quran was revealed as a manifestation of God’s mercy.  In other words, the Quran is like one big love-letter to humanity.  As with true love, the one who loves wants good for the beloved, and warns them of pitfalls and obstacles, and shows them the way to happiness.  The Quran is no different: it calls out to humanity, and it also warns and expresses glad tidings. - islamreligion.com

FOOTNOTES:

[1]Fromm, E.  (1956).  The Art of Loving.  New York: Harper & Row, pp.  58-59.

[2]Al-Ghazali.  (2011) Al-Ghazali on Love, Longing, Intimacy & Contentment.  Translated with an introduction and notes by Eric Ormsby.  Cambridge: The Islamic Texts Society, p.  25

PARTS OF THIS ARTICLE

• READ PART 1 - 7 Reasons Why God is Worthy of Worship (part 1 of 6)
• READ PART 2 - 7 Reasons Why God is Worthy of Worship (part 2 of 6)
• READ PART 3 - 7 Reasons Why God is Worthy of Worship (part 3 of 6)

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE COMPANION SUHAIB IBN SINAN AR-RUMI

Three of the non-Arabs that accepted Islam in the very early days of the mission of Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, stand out.  They were Salman from Persia, Bilal ibn Rabah, whose heritage was Abyssinian, and Shuaib, known as the Roman.  These three men were among Prophet Muhammad’s close companions, they readily recognized Islam as the truth, and gave the fledgling religion a foretaste of the worldwide acceptance it would enjoy.  Prophet Muhammad is said to have predicted the spread of Islam by describing them as the forerunners of their respective ethnic groups; Suhaib from Romans, Bilal from the Abyssinians, and Salman from the Persians.   

Suhaib was the son of a man who ruled an outlying province of the Persian Empire in the area now known as Iraq.  He was, by all accounts, a fun-loving, well educated, and intelligent little boy.  One day, when attending a picnic with his mother and other women and children, their party was attacked by Byzantine raiders who captured many slaves.  The blonde blue-eyed little boy Suhaib spent his boyhood and youth being traded as a possession.  However, his owners all recognized his intelligence and his education continued.  He was soon fluent in Greek, the dominant language of the Eastern Roman Empire and had acquired excellent trading skills. 

Although Suhaib adopted the Byzantine customs and lifestyle he never felt completely at ease in the decadent empire and was later heard to remark that, "A society like this (Byzantine Empire) can only be purified with a deluge." In his young adulthood Suhaib found out of the Byzantine empire and arrived in Mecca as a skilled merchant.   The stories of his return to his homeland differ.  Some say that he escaped with a significant amount of wealth and started a trading partnership with Abdullah ibn Judan.  Others believe that he was eventually sold to Abdullah ibn Judan, who recognized his skills and emancipated him.  No matter what manner is correct Suhaib did prosper and become very rich.  However, the prevailing idolatry and depravity of Mecca overshadowed his success and brought him no peace of mind.  His search for meaning in his life eventually brought him to the House of Arqam.

In the beginning of Islam, the fledgling Muslims could not worship openly or comfortably.  Arqam’s house was selected as a place where they could meet, pray and learn about Islam.  The house could be entered and exited secretly and it was in a narrow street that could be seen from within. 

It is narrated that Ammar said, "I met Suhaib ibn Sinan at the doorstep of Arqam’s house when the Messenger of Allah was there.  I said, ‘What do you want?’ He asked me in turn, ‘and what do you want?’  I said I would like to speak with Prophet Mohammad and listen to his message.  He said that he would like to do the same.  Then we entered together the house and he (the Prophet) introduced us to Islam and we both accepted it.  We remained in the house for the rest of the day and left secretly in the darkness of the night."[1]

Thus, Suhaib began his journey of piety.   It was not an easy period for him.  He was without family or tribal support and his wealth and new status as a free person did not save him from the abuses and persecution suffered by many new Muslims at the hands of the Meccan elite.  When Prophet Muhammad began to encourage his followers to migrate to Medina, Suhaib was keen to be among them.  Due to his wealth, the Meccan elite tried to prevent him, to the extent that they had guards watching over him and trying to foil any escapes.  Eventually he resorted to subterfuge.

Suhaib pretended to have a stomachache and went in and out of his house as if needing to repeatedly answer the call of nature.  The guards joked about his condition, got bored and fell asleep.  Suhaib took the opportunity to arm himself with a sword and a bow and galloped away from Mecca on his horse.  The guards arose from their stupor and gave chase, trapping Suhaib on a hill.  He stood there threatening to kill them all, but quickly changed tactics and decided to offer them money to allow him to escape.  The guards took up that offer and he continued on to Medina. 

When Suhaib reached Quba, just outside Medina, Prophet Muhammad saw him approaching and said, "Your transaction has been fruitful, O Abu Yahya.  Your transaction has been fruitful." He repeated it three times.  Suhaib was overjoyed and said, "By God, no one has come before me to you, Messenger of God, only the angel Gabriel could have informed you about this."[2]

Suhaib was able to recoup the wealth he gave away to the guards and continued to be generous with his wealth, giving it away at every opportunity, even feeding the needy, the orphans or the captives.  Umar ibn al-Khattab once remarked, "Why are you nicknamed as Abu Yahya (father of John) when you don’t have a child? You say that you are an Arab when you are known as the Roman, and you feed people too much, I have seen you giving out so much food that you appear to be too extravagant." Suhaib replied that he once heard Prophet Muhammad say "The best of you is the one who gives out food."[3]

Years later after Prophet Muhammad’s death, when Umar was the leader of the Muslim nation, Suhaib learned that he (Umar) had been stabbed.  He was unable to control his anger and grief and ran to Umar’s side weeping.  "Alas! my brother, Alas! my friend!"  Even as he was dying Umar said, "O Suhaib! Are you weeping for me when the Prophet said, "The dead person is tormented by some of the weeping of his relatives?"[4]

Umar called six of his companions to decide among themselves who should succeed him.[5] He then assigned Suhaib to lead the Muslims in prayers and undertake the interim leadership of the Islamic nation.  Suhaib is known to have narrated more than thirty hadith and three of them can be found in Saheeh Muslim.

Suhaib ibn Sinan ar-Rumi died in Medina thirty-eight years after the migration, in 658 CE at approximately seventy years of age.  Sa'd ibn Abu Waqas lead his funeral prayer, and he is buried in Jannat al-Baqi, the first Islamic cemetery established in Medina.  - islamreligion.com

FOOTNOTES:

[1]Muhammad ibn Saad.  Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir, vol.  3.  Translated by Bewley, A.  (2013).  The Companions of Badr, p.  189.  London: Ta-Ha Publishers.

[2]Iman Ahmad

[3]Imam Ahmad, Saheh Bukhari

[4]The Niche of Lamps (Miskat al-Masabih) 1-4 Vol 2.

[5]The six men were Ali ibn Abu Talib, Uthman ibn Affan, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, Sa`d ibn Abu Waqqas, Zubair ibn Awwam and Talhah ibn Ubaydullah

Giving Food

Giving Food in Surah Al-Insan (No.76):

This is a good gesture of Allah's Mercy to Mention giving food in a Surah that is entitled "Al-Insan". Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive…} [Quran 76:8]

Ibn ‘Abbas  and Mujahid  said, "This verse denotes that they feed the needy, the orphan and the captive despite the scarcity of food and their need and love for it."

What about you and your food?

How great a deed is feeding the hungry in our time!

Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {Or feeding on a day of severe hunger…} [Quran 90:14]
An-Nakha‘i  commented on this verse saying, "They feed the hungry at times when food is not ample."

Mohammed ibn Al-Munkadir  said, "Feeding hungry Muslims guarantees the forgiveness of sins."
He  also said on another occasion: "Feeding the hungry and saying kind words to others usher you to Paradise."

Dear brother and sister, you may notice how our days - in some Muslim countries - have turned into days of severe hunger. Food has become scarce and meat has also become scarce as well as being too expensive for the poor.

What about you, dear readers? What about your food?

An Explicit Command:

Feeding people in general and a hungry person in particular has been explicitly mentioned in the command of the Messenger of Allah . Abu Moosa Al-Ash‘ari, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet  said: "Feed the hungry, pay a visit to the sick and free the captives." [Saheeh] A reported saying reads, "The best charity is to satisfy a hungry person." Alas, a Muslim may sit at an Iftar table with delicious and tasty dishes while his neighbors break their fast with a few morsels of food, if they can be found!

The Righteous Predecessors :

Our righteous predecessors  were keen to feed people and favored this act of worship over many others, whether it was for a hungry poor person or feeding a righteous Muslim. Poverty is not an essential condition in this regard. The Messenger of Allah  said: "O people! Spread the Islamic greetings amongst yourselves, feed the hungry, maintain kinship relations, observe prayer at night while people are asleep and you will peacefully enter the Paradise." [Saheeh]

Some of the righteous predecessors  said, "It is better for me to invite ten of my friends and feed them delicious food that they like than freeing ten slaves from the children of Isma‘eel  (i.e. Arabs)."

Abu As-Siwar Al-‘Adawi  said, "Some men from the ‘Uday tribe used to pray in this mosque and none of them would break his fast alone. If one found someone to eat with, he would eat. If he could not find someone to eat with, he would take his food and go to the mosque to share it with the people in the mosque."

Fruits of Feeding the Hungry:

The act of worship of feeding the hungry gives rise to many other acts of worship such as showing affection towards one's fellow Muslims whom he feeds and this can be a reason for him being granted Paradise. The Prophet  said: "You shall not enter Paradise as long as you do not affirm belief (in all those things which are the articles of faith) and you will not believe as long as you do not love one another." [Muslim]

It also gives rise to (the act of worship) being in the company of righteous people and hoping for the rewards of Allah The Almighty in offering them food as they gain strength to perform acts of worship.

Food Baskets:

Some righteous predecessors  used to send their friends a basket full of sugar or other such food.
Yunus ibn ‘Ubayd Yahdi  said, "I gave a basket of sugar to Al-Hasan Al-Basri  as a gift and I have not seen any sugar better than this one. He opened the basket and said to his companions, "Eat and enjoy." -islamweb.net

Celebrating the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday in Malaysia

khazari

The Prophet Muhammad is a significant figure in Islam, as he is believed to be the last prophet that Allah sent to mankind. As a nation that is over half Muslim, many Malaysians celebrate and commemorate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. Locally, this is referred to as “Mawlid” or “Maulidur Rasul”, and is marked as a national public holiday.

The Muslim calendar is 354 days long and the Prophet’s birthday is celebrated on a specific date, equating to a different day each year in the Gregorian (or Western) calendar. In 2015, it will be celebrated on the 3rd of January.

History

The history of the celebration of this event started in the Middle East, 400 years after the death of the Prophet. The celebration began as a tribute, and modern day celebrations in Malaysia involve a procession or parade where followers recite praise for Muhammad from passages of the Islamic religious text, the Quran.

There are differing views in the global Islamic community about the need to celebrate this occasion, but most countries including Malaysia do indeed commemorate it.

Malaysia’s celebration

In Malaysia, the Putra Mosque in Putrajaya tends to be the location of the national celebrations and the starting point of the main parade. Government officials, including the Prime Minister, distinguished guests, and religious figures all attend, with plenty of speeches and education aiming to unite the population.

Last year almost 14,000 people from over 150 continents took part in the parade in Putrajaya, which came to 1.7 kilometres long.

There are also official state-level celebrations that are organised in a similar vein. The nation’s mosques (known as ‘masjid’ in Malaysia) are all cleansed for this day and decorated accordingly. Devoted followers of the religion also do the same with their homes.

The day’s events

On this auspicious day in Malaysia, there is a relatively standard order of events. It all begins with a dawn prayer service to kick of proceedings. This consists of prayers, readings, recitals, and songs of praise by Muslims sitting together in mosques all over the country.

Following this service, it is customary to have a large communal breakfast, then get ready and go to the location of one of the many celebratory events nationwide. An opening ceremony is held at various locations for state based celebrations. This is where dignitaries officiate with a speech, followed by the other speeches, readings, and more recitals. Religious figures finish the proceedings off with a lecture, and then notable awards are presented for community service.

Once the opening event has concluded, it’s time for the procession to begin. This involves a set route through the town, with music and often banners on display. The procession ends at its original starting point, where food is then distributed to revelers for their participation.

This occasion is one that is worth experiencing if visiting Malaysia during this time. As always, it is important to always be respectful of the culture when visiting as a tourist. This occasion is celebrated nationally to promote peace, love, and unity, and whilst it is a relatively modern addition to the Islamic faith, it is of great significance to the people of Malaysia. Other than uniting residents and believers, the day is considered to be an important opportunity to educate Malaysia’s children about the Prophet’s life, and instill values and teachings of the Quran, making it a celebration of national cultural importance.

Today, 9 November 2019 is when Malaysians celebrate and commemorate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad which is locally known as “Maulidur Rasul”.

Fasting on the last Wednesday of Safar

Question:

Please can you enlighten me on the importance of fasting and special Nawafil on the last Wednesday of Safar?

 

Answer:

 

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad  is His Slave and Messenger.

 

It is not permissible to exclusively designate the last Wednesday of the month of Safar for fasting or for any particular supererogatory acts of worship as this is allocating a particular act of worship to a particular time without religious evidence, and this is an innovation.

 

Allah Knows best.

 

Fatwa answered by: The Fatwa Center at Islamweb

Al-'Abbas Ibn 'Abdul-Muttalib

Equality and brotherhood of man in Allah are two of the major principles of the Islamic faith. We read in the Qur'an what may be translated as: "O mankind! Indeed, We have created you from male and female and made you Peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted." [Quran, 49: 13]. Whenever we read the glorious history of Islam we are reminded again and again of these principles, especially that of equality. An interesting illustration of this involved Al-'Abbas Ibn 'Abdul-Muttalib  who was not only a beloved uncle of Prophet Muhammad  but also a playmate (since they were only a couple of years apart in age).

In the Battle of Badr, the first major battle in Islamic history, some leaders of the Makkah community were forced to join the army of the pagan enemies of Islam mainly through moral pressure. These included Al-'Abbas and another prominent leader of Quraysh, who was known for his sympathetic attitude and conduct towards the Companions of Muhammad . Realizing this fact, Prophet Muhammad  gave orders to his followers not to kill such people, pointing out that they were not real enemies who deserved death. Later, when Al-'Abbas Ibn 'Abdul-Muttalib  was taken captive to Al-Madeenah, the Companions found the Prophet sleepless. So they asked him: "Why are you restless, O Messenger of Allah?" He  answered, "I heard the moaning of Al-'Abbas, due to the tightness of the ropes with which he is being tied." A little while later the Prophet   asked, "Why is Al-'Abbas quiet now?" He   was told that someone loosened the fetters for him. The Prophet   ordered that the same be done with the other prisoners.

The second incident occurred when ransom was collected from the prisoners of war. When asked to pay ransom for himself and some followers of his, Al-'Abbas said, "But I am a Muslim and I was forced to join the Makkah army." The Prophet's answer was, "Allah knows about your Islam. If it be true, then He will reward you and return to you whatever you pay. According to what appears to us, you have to pay the ransom." Al-'Abbas Ibn 'Abdul Muttalib  despite his relationship with the Prophet  was treated on equal footing like any other prisoner of war, and was freed only upon payment of his ransom.

The supporting spirit of Al-'Abbas to Islam and its Prophet explains his attendance of the secret meeting at Al-'Aqabah where seventy-three Medinites gave their oath of allegiance to Prophet Muhammad  to protect him whenever he migrated to Al-Madeenah. It was Al-'Abbas who checked the sincerity of the Medinites for the Prophet .

After the Prophet's  victorious re-entry to Makkah, the pagan tribes in the neighbourhood of Makkah joined forces to fight the Muslims. For the first time the Muslim army exceeded twelve thousand in number. So many of the fighters had a sense of self-assurance, an attitude that leads to defeat. Some Muslims said, "Never will we be defeated due to paucity." However, it was Allah's will that His soldiers be properly trained for the battles they were to enter at various places and times on this earth. The Muslim army in the battle of Hunayn was surrounded by the enemy (being ambushed and taken by surprise). The Messenger of Allah turned to the right and said: "O people! I am the Messenger of Allah. I am Muhammad, the son of Abdullah." Those who stoodfast by him were only a few emigrants and some of his kinsmen and Al 'Abbas was one of them. The matchless bravery of the Prophet   was then brought to light. He went on and on in his attempts to make his mule steadfast in the face of the disbelievers while saying loudly:

"Truly saying, I am the Prophet and I am the (grand) son of Abdul Muttalib."

However, Abu Sufyan Ibn Al-Harith  who was then holding the rein of the Prophet’s mule, and Al-'Abbas   who was holding its stirrup; were endeavoring to make it halt. The Messenger of Allah dismounted and asked his Lord to render him help.

"O, Allah, send down Your Help!"

The Messenger of Allah  ordered his uncle Al-'Abbas — who was a sonorous voiced man — to call out on the companions. As loudly as he could, Al-'Abbas  shouted: "Where are the lancers?" Al-'Abbas said, "By Allah, upon hearing my voice calling them back, they turned round to the battlefield as if they had been oryxes (wild cows) tending towards their calves."

It was the Prophet's strong and firm faith in Allah and his courage as well as the heroic nature and behavior of people like Al-'Abbas Ibn 'Abdul-Muttalib that saved the day in that battle, known as 'the Battle of Hunayn.' At those critical moments, it was Al-'Abbas who stayed all the time with the Prophet  along with a handful of companions. The battle took a new turn, the enemy was defeated, and the Muslim army came out victorious.

Al-'Abbas  as pointed out earlier, was an uncle of Prophet Muhammad  and a dear one for that. Besides this, he is remembered for being the father of the well-known authority 'Abdullah Ibn Al-'Abbas on matters of the Quran and the teachings of the faith. He passed away in Al-Madeenah in 32 AH during the reign of 'Uthman Ibn Affan . - islamweb.net