Stories of Sahaba رضي الله عنه

Shuaib R.A

🍀بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم🍀
ﷺ ♥̸̨͡🍃ﷺ♥̸̨͡🍃ﷺ

STORY:
The Sacrifice of Shuayb ar-Rumi radiallaahu anhu

Shuayb ar-Rumi (radiallaahu anhu) came from an Arab royal family background. However, as a small child he was kidnapped from Arabia & sold as a slave. He grew up in Constantinople as a slave & used to speak Greek. He was essentially raised as a westerner.

One day Shuayb (r.a) escaped from his master in Constantinople & returned to Arabia where he headed for Makkah. He begun to work for a Makkan aristocrat as a trader & soon became very wealthy. He came to Makkah in the early stage of Rasulullah sallallaahu alayhi wasallam's mission.

Shuayb (r.a) heard of Rasulullah sallallaahu alayhi wasallam & decided to visit him ﷺ in order to discover directly what Rasulullah sallallaahu alayhi wasallam had to say about this new religion. There, in Darul Arqam, Shuayb (r.a) soon accepted the shahadah & became one of the early Muslims. Being a defenceless Makkan employed by a Merchant, he lacked the protection, which the likes of Abu Bakr (radiallaahu anhu) enjoyed.

In the coming years, whilst engaging in daw'ah, the Quraysh subjected him to inhumane treatment, just as the likes of Bilal & Ammar bin Yassir (r.a) were.

When Rasulullah sallallaahu alayhi wasallam was preparing for hijrah, Shuayb (r.a) also prepared to accompany Rasulullah sallallaahu alayhi wasallam. However, the Quraysh were determined to prevent Shuayb's (r.a) escape to Madinah.

Rasulullah sallallaahu alayhi wasallam together with Abu Bakr (r.a) completed the hijrah to Madinah but Shuayb was under the watchful eyes of the Quraysh. During his escape he was captured by some of Quraysh's men & was prevented from leaving Makkah.

His captors said, "We will not let u escape from us with ur life & money. When u came to us u were weak & poor. Now u have acquired wealth in Makkah [& u are leaving!]".

Shuayb (r.a) however, was not interested in his wordly gains. Rather, he was much more interested in serving the cause of Islam,remaining in the company of Rasulullah sallallaahu alayhi wasallam & his ﷺ fellow sahaba. So Shuayb struck a deal with his captors. He offered them to keep all his wealth in return for his release & continuation of his journey to Madinah.

Let us take a quick pause here!

As a trader, Shuayb (r.a) must have known that this was indeed a heavy price to pay for his emigration. After all, he had escaped slavery in Constantinople & worked very hard to make a comfortable living in Makkah. Was his situation not like us Muslims in the West in the sense that we also escaped poverty, dictatorships, political instability & oppression in search of a better life? Many of us are quite comfortable here! We have established ourselves in large communities with our professions & businesses etc. However, we need to ask ourselves whether our love for Allah Subhana Ta'ala His Messenger sallallaahu alayhi wasallam & His Deen is anywhere near to the level of Shuayb's (r.a) sacrifice!

When Shuayb (r.a) arrived in Madinah, Rasullullah sallallaahu alayhi wasallam greeted him with a smile & said,
" Ur transaction has been fruitful, O Abu Yahya. Ur transaction has been fruitful!"
Rasulullah sallallaahu alayhi wasallam repeated this 3 times. Nobody had yet come to inform Rasulullah sallallaahu alayhi wasallam about Shuayb's (r.a) sacrifice. But he (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam ) was given this information by Jibreel (alayhis salaam).

The Qur'an also described this level of sacrifice in Allah's path:

وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَشْرِي نَفْسَهُ ابْتِغَاء مَرْضَاتِ اللّهِ وَاللّهُ رَؤُوفٌ بِالْعِبَادِ

"And of mankind is he who would sell himself, seeking the Pleasure of Allah. Aиϑ Allah is full of Kindness to (His) slaves." [Al-Baqara, 2:207]

In fact, the glad tidings conveyed in this ayah do not just apply to the sahaba like Shuayb (r.a) nor is Rasulullah sallallaahu alayhi wasallam's comment about Shuayb's transaction only applicable to him. In fact, it can also apply to us if we are prepared to make such sacrifices.

This example epitomises a Muslim's ultimate material sacrifice to please his Lord.

This noble companion had effectively sacrificed all his wealth & property so that he could be in the service of Allah's Deen & His Messenger.

We need to ask ourselves whether our love for Allah Subhana Ta'ala His Messenger sallallaahu alayhi wasallam & His Deen is anywhere near to the level of Shuayb's (r.a) sacrifice.

Indeed we have much to learn from all the noble Companions (r.a) who were handpicked by اللّه Subhana Ta'ala .

The days of sacrifice are upon us..what will u & me give up & sacrifice for the pleasure of Allâh Subhana wa Ta'ala??
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