Martyrdom

Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair was martyred during the Battle of Uhud. On the day of Uhud, Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair was fighting in front of the Holy Prophet (sa) and was martyred during the battle. He was martyred by Ibn Qami‘ah.

(al-Sirat al-Nabawiyyah li Ibn Hisham, p. 383, Ghazwah Uhud, Maqtal Mus‘ab (ra) bin ‘Umair, Dar Ibn Hazm, Beirut [2009])

In the books of history, it is mentioned that the flag-bearer during the Battle of Uhud, Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair, protected the flag [of Islam] in an excellent manner. Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) was carrying the flag on the day of Uhud, when Ibn Qami‘ah, who was riding a horse, attacked with his sword and struck the right hand of Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra), with which he was holding the flag, and severed it. Upon this, Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) started reciting the following verse:

وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ اِلاَّ رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِہِ الرُّسُلُ

[And Muhammad is only a Messenger. Verily, all Messengers have passed away before him] and grasped the flag in his left hand. Ibn Qami‘ah struck the left hand and severed it as well, upon which Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) embraced the flag of Islam with both of his arms and held it to his chest. Following this, Ibn Qami‘ah attacked Hazrat Mus‘ab(ra) with a spear for a third time which pierced his chest. The spear broke and Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) fell to the ground. Upon this, two individuals from [the tribe of] Banu Abd-id-Dar, Suwaibit (ra) bin Sa‘d bin Harmala and Abu Rum (ra) bin Umair, stepped forward. Abu Rum bin Umair grabbed the flag and it remained in his hands until the Muslims returned and entered Medina.

(al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, p. 89, Mus‘ab (ra) bin ‘Umair, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut [1990])

Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) was 40 years old, or just over 40 at the time of his martyrdom.

(Usdul Ghabah, Vol. 5, p. 76, Mus‘ab (ra) bin ‘Umair, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut [2003])

Mentioning this particular incident, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad Sahib (ra) states in Sirat Khatamun-Nabiyyin:

“The army of the Quraish had pretty much surrounded them from all four fronts and continued to crush the Muslims moment by moment through repeated attacks. Yet, even after all this, the Muslims probably would have regained themselves shortly thereafter, but the outrage was that a bold warrior from among the Quraish named Abdullah bin Qami‘ah attacked Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair, the flag-bearer of the Muslims and severed his right hand with the blow of his sword. Mus‘ab (ra) immediately clutched the flag with his other hand and advanced to confront Ibni Qami‘ah, but in his second blow, the other hand was severed as well. Upon this, Mus‘ab (ra) joined both of his severed hands together in an endeavour to keep the Islamic flag from falling and held it to his chest, upon which Ibni Qami‘ah struck him a third time, and this time Mus‘ab (ra) was martyred and fell to the ground. As far as the flag was concerned, another Muslim immediately advanced and took hold of it, but since the size and figure of Mus‘ab (ra) resembled the Holy Prophet (sa), Ibni Qami‘ah thought that he had slain the Holy Prophet (sa). It is also probable that this scheme of his was merely guided by motives of mischief and deceit. In any case, when Mus‘ab (ra) was martyred and fell, Ibni Qami‘ah exclaimed that he had slain Muhammad [sa]. At this news, the Muslims lost whatever composure was left in them and their force was scattered completely.”

(Sirat Khatamun-Nabiyyin, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad (ra), p. 493)

This was also a major reason the Muslims lost their composure during the Battle of Uhud. Nevertheless, they regrouped later. When the Holy Prophet (sa) approached the body of Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra), it was turned face down. The Holy Prophet (sa) stood beside it and recited the following verse:

مِنَ الۡمُؤۡمِنِیۡنَ رِجَالٌ صَدَقُوۡا مَا عَاہَدُوا اللّٰہَ عَلَیۡہِ ۚ فَمِنۡہُمۡ مَّنۡ قَضٰی نَحۡبَہٗ وَمِنۡہُمۡ مَّنۡ یَّنۡتَظِرُ ۫ۖ وَمَا بَدَّلُوۡا تَبۡدِیۡلًا

That is, “Among the believers are men who have been true to the covenant they made with Allah. There are some of them who have fulfilled their vow, and some who still wait, and they have not changed their condition in the least.” [Surah al-Ahzab, Ch.33: V.24]

Following this, the Holy Prophet (sa) said,

اِنَّ رَسُولَ اللہِ یَشْھَدُ اَنَّکُم اشُّھَدَاءُ عِنْدَ اللہِ یَومَ القیامَۃِ

That is, “the Messenger (sa) of Allah bears witness that even on the Day of Judgement they will be counted as martyrs in the sight of Allah.”

Then, the Holy Prophet (sa) addressed the companions and said, “You should visit him and send your salutations upon him. By Him, in Whose hand lies my life, he will respond to the salutations of everyone who will send salutations upon him until the Day of Judgment.” Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra)’s brothers, Hazrat Abu Rum (ra) bin Umair, Hazrat Suwaibit (ra) bin Sa‘d and Hazrat Aamir (ra) bin Rabi‘ah lowered him into the grave.

(al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, p. 89, Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut [1990])

In Sirat Khatamun-Nabiyyin, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad Sahib (ra) mentions this in the following manner:

“One honourable man from among the martyrs of Uhud was Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair. He was the first Muhajir who was sent to Medina as a missionary of Islam. In the era of the Jahiliyyah, among the young men of Mecca, Mus‘ab (ra) was considered to be the most well-dressed and elegant, and lived in great comfort and luxury. After accepting Islam, his condition was transformed completely. In fact, there is a narration that on one occasion, the Holy Prophet (sa) saw him dressed in a cloth which was covered with numerous patches. At this, the Holy Prophet (sa) was reminded of his earlier life, and the eyes of the Holy Prophet (sa) began to glisten with tears. When Mus‘ab (ra) was martyred at Uhud, he did not even have enough cloth by which his body could be fully covered. If his feet were covered, his head would become exposed, and if his head was covered, his feet would become bare. As such, according to the instruction of the Holy Prophet (sa), his head was covered with cloth and his feet were covered with grass.”

(Sirat Khatamun-Nabiyyin, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad (ra), p. 501)

There is a narration of Sahih al-Bukhari which states:

“Food was brought before Hazrat Abdur Rahman (ra) bin Auf to break the fast which he was observing at the time. Upon this he said, ‘Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair was martyred and he was better than me, but only one sheet was available to shroud him [at the time of his burial]. It was so small that when his head was covered; his feet remained uncovered and if his feet were covered, his head remained uncovered.’ The narrator states that he believes Abdur Rahman (ra) bin Auf also said, ‘Hamza (ra) was martyred and he was better than me.’ Thereafter he continued, ‘Then the bounties of this world were bestowed upon us generously’ or perhaps he said, ‘We were granted that which was destined for us and I am afraid that the reward of our good deeds may have been bestowed to us in this world.’ Thereupon, he began to cry and left the food untouched.”

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitabul Jana’iz, Bab idha lam yujad illa thaub wahid, Hadith 1375)

He became emotional owing to his fear of God Almighty and the treatment he would receive from God in the Hereafter, for if they had been granted bounties in this world, then he thought that perhaps they may not receive anything in the next life.

Hazrat Khubbab (ra) bin Art narrates, “We migrated with the Messenger (sa) of Allah seeking the pleasure of Allah and expecting our reward from Him. Some of us died without partaking anything from their reward. Among them was Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair, and there are those among us whose fruits of their deeds have ripened and they are enjoying its delight. Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair was martyred in the Battle of Uhud, and there was only one cloth available for us to cover him in. When we covered his head with it, his feet were exposed and when we covered his feet with it, his head was uncovered. So the Holy Prophet (sa) told us to cover his head and to put some idhkhir (i.e., lemon grass) over his feet.”

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitabul Jana‘iz, Bab idha lam yajid kaffuna illa ma yuwari ra‘sahu, Hadith 1376)