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Limb Silencer Black

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Posted by admin | Posted in Sights...Mainly | Posted on 31-05-2010

Limb Silencer Black

Lion of God and the Chief of the Martyrs in Islam

There have been a number of brave and self-sacrificing officers and strong and powerful champions in the army of Islam at the time of prophet Mohammad (Sallallahu alaihe wa Sallam) but the bravery of Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib is recorded in the pages of history and in fact constitutes the golden leaves of the history of the battles of Islam. Muhammed Mustafa (Sallallahu alaihe wa Sallam), the Messenger of Allah (Subhanahu wa Taala), though safe under the protection of his uncle, Abu Talib, was not immune from harassment by the infidels. Whenever they found an opportunity for baiting him, they didn't miss it. On one occasion, Abu Jehl, another uncle of the prophet, found him alone, and used much offensive and vulgar language toward him. That same evening when his uncle, Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib, came home from a hunting expedition, his slave-girl who was witness to behavior of Abu Jehl towards the prophet, recounted to him the tale of Abu Jehl's gratuitous insolence toward Muhammed(Sallallahu alaihe wa Sallam), and the latter's forbearance, of which she had been an eye-witness.

Hamzah was not only a warrior, a hunter and a sportsman having little interest in the day-to-day affairs of the city but also a man with a beating human heart. The tail of Abu Jehl's conduct toward his nephew so roused his anger that he seized his bow, went into the assembly of the Quraish where Abu Jehl was reviewing the events of the day to his compeers, struck him at his head with his bow, causing it to bleed, and shouted: "I too have become a Muslim." This was a challenge to Abu Jehl but he realized the gravity of the situation and figured that silence was the best part of valor, and decided not only not to tangle with Hamzah but also preferred to restrain his friends who wished to rise in his defense.

Hamzah was a brave, straight forward, transparent, and religiously conscientious individual. He had no object in mind except to defend truth and virtue and to maintain freedom in the lives of human beings. It was he who insisted earnestly that the army of Islam should go out of Madina and fight against Quraish. It was Hamzah, who protected the Prophet in Makkah during the delicate moments with all his might. Hamzah accepted Islam in the fifth year of the Proclamation of Islam by Mohammad (Sallallahu alaihe Wa Sallam). Hamzah was the same senior and valiant officer who killed the brave champion of Quraish Shaybah and others and also wounded a group of the enemies in the Battle of Badr, the first battle of Islam.

Hamzah had killed Utbah, the father of Hinda, in the battle of Badr. In the battle of Uhad, Hinda got her cherished and much awaited opportunity to slake her thirst for vengeance which had given her no rest since the battle of Badr. Hinda, the wife of Abu Sufyan and the mother of Muawiyah, nursed a grudge against Hamzah and was determined to take her father's revenge on the Muslims at any cost. An Ethiopian warrior (named Wahshi) was the slave of Jabir Mut'am whose one uncle had also been killed in the Battle of Badr. The said Wahshi had been lured and assured of lovely gifts by Hinda to help achieve her objective by hook or by crook. She asked him to kill atleast one of the three persons viz. the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallahu alaihe Wa Sallam), Hazrat Ali or Hazrat Hamzah (may Allah be pleased with them) so that she might avenge her father's death. The Ethiopian warrior said in reply: "I cannot approach Muhammad at all, because his companions remain too nearer to him to approach him by anyone else. As for as Ali is concerned he remains extraordinarily vigilant in the battlefield and it is beyond one’s imagination to harm him without getting killed his person by Ali himself. Yes, Hamzah may be a probable target as he becomes so furious, while fighting, that he is lost in his aim and does not pay any attention to any other side and it is possible that I may be able to make him fall by some trick or by taking him unawares". As this was more than unexpectedly sufficient for Hinda, she was contented with Wahshi’s promise and promised in her turn to get him freed if he was successful in performing the job she was entrusting him. Some believe that Jabir made this promise with his slave, Wahshi as his uncle had been killed in the Battle of Badr.

Wahshi, the slave, says: "On the Day of Uhad I was pursuing Hamzah. He was attacking the centre of the army like a ferocious lion and killed every one whom he could approach. I preferred to hide myself behind the trees and stones, so that he could not see me. When he became too busy in fighting, I dared to come out of the ambush. Being an Ethiopian, I used to throw my weapon like the Ethiopians do at crucial times and it seldom missed the target. I, therefore, threw my javelin towards him from a specific distance after moving it in a particular manner. The weapon fell on his flank and came out from between his two legs. He wanted to attack me but severe pain prevented him from doing so. He remained in the same condition till his soul departed from his body. Then I approached him very carefully and having taken out my weapon from his body returned to the army of Quraish and informed Hinda and her associates about the news, they were never sure to hear.

Since Muslims had lost the battle of Uhad partially for a careless act of a responsible group of trusted fighters, Hinda and the other harpies she had brought with her from Makkah, got a chance to mutilate the bodies of the slain Muslim warriors. Hinda’s heart was so much laden with hatred and was void of the essence of humanity that she cut open Hamzah's abdomen, plucked out his liver and chewed it up. According to some historians, Hinda lit a fire in the battlefield, roasted Hamzah's heart and liver and ate them. Having found her ruthless inners unsatisfied with all this, she cut the limbs, the ears and the nose of Hamzah, strung them into a "necklace," and entered Makkah wearing it as a "trophy" of victory. On the other hand Muhammed Mustafa (Sallallahu alaihe Wa Sallam), the Apostle of God, was deeply aggrieved when he heard about the death and the accounts of mutilation of the body of such a stalwart of Islam as Hamzah. He bestowed upon him the titles of the "Lion of God," and the "Chief of the Martyrs."

The killer Wahshi says “after the Battle of Uhad, I continued to live in Makkah for quite a long time until the Muslims conquered Makkah. I then ran away to Taif, but soon Islam reached that area as well. I heard that however grave the crime of a person might be, the Prophet forgave him. I, therefore, reached the Prophet with Shahadatain (i.e., I testify that there is no god but Allah and I also testify that Muhammad is His Prophet) on my lips. The Prophet saw me and said "Are you the same Wahshi, an Ethiopian?" I replied in the affirmative. Thereupon he said: "How did you kill Hamzah?" when I gave an account of the matter, the Prophet was moved and said: "I should not see your face henceforth, because the heart-rending calamity fell upon my uncle at your hands".

It was the same great spirit of the Prophet of Islam (Sallallahu alaihe Wa Sallam) that made him set this man free although he could have executed him on many grounds. Wahshi says: "As long as the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihe Wa Sallam) was alive, I kept myself hidden from him. After his death the battle with Musaylimah Kazzab took place. I joined the army of Islam and used the same weapon against Musaylimah and succeeded in killing him with the help of one of the Ansar. If I killed the best of men (i.e. Hamzah) with this weapon, the worst man, too, did not escape its horror".

The participation of Wahshi in the battle against Musaylimah is something which he himself claims, but lbn Hisham says: "During the last days of his life Wahshi was like a black crow that was always hated by Muslims on account of his being a drunkard and was punished twice on account of drinking wine. On account of his indecent actions his name was struck off the army records and Umar bin Khattab used to say: "The murderer of Hamzah does not deserve to be pardoned in the other world."

About the Author

Dr.Badruddin Khan teaches Chemistry in the University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India. He is convinced that in order to remain humans, the humans need to know about the heroes and villains of the history.