Facing Persecution

When Hazrat Zubair (ra) accepted Islam, his paternal uncle would wrap him in a mat and fill it with smoke so that he would renounce Islam and return to disbelief. However, he used to say that he would never return to disbelief.

(Al-Isabah Fi Tamyeez al-Sahabah, Vol. 2, p. 457, Zubair bin al-Awwam (ra), Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1995)

Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) has narrated this incident in relation to Hazrat Zubair (ra) in the following manner:

“Zubair bin al-Awwam (ra) , was a very brave youth, who proved to be a great Muslim general during the Islamic conquests. His paternal uncle also tortured him greatly. He would wrap him up in a mat and fill it with smoke from underneath in order to suffocate him. He would then say, ‘Will you now leave Islam or not?’ However, he would tolerate this torture and reply, ‘After having found the truth, I cannot deny it.’”

(Dibacha Tafsir-ul-Quran, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 20, pp. 196-197)