Honesty saves: The story of the three who missed Tabook

1. Honesty saves:The story of the three who missed Tabook People to remember K,abibn Malik Murarahibn-ur-Rabee HilalibnUmayyah

2. Prophet Muhammad calls All Muslims for Tabook • Ka’bIbnMalik said, “I stayed behind Rasoolullah on the expedition to Tabook.I had never been stronger or wealthier than I was at that time. Never before did I have two camels. • When the Prophet would go out on an expedition, he would always indicate another destination until the army actually left. • Rasoolullah made this long journey at a time of intense heat through a waterless desert to face a great enemy.

3. He made the whole thing quite clear to the Muslims that they could make the necessary preparations for the expedition. • Ka’b Falls to Travel with the Prophet and the Muslims • Ka’b : The Messenger of Allah was to make the expedition when the fruit was ripe and there was plentiful shad. Because of this, I really wanted to stay at home. The preparation for expedition was going on, I would go out to do the same but then I would return without having accomplished anything, saying to myself, I can do it any time I wish. I went on like this until the Messenger of Allah set out with the Muslims, I had still not completed any of my preparation. The Prophet left on the expedition of Tabook on Thursday.

4. I intended to set off and catch up with them, and I wish that I had done so, but that was not decreed for me. When I saw the people who stayed after the Prophet had left, it saddened me that they were either hypocrites, or had been excused by the Prophet for being sick or old. • The Messenger of Allah did not mention me until he reached Tabook. While he was sitting among the people at Tabook, he said, “What has Ka’bibn Malik done?” A man said, “O Rasoolullah, he has been held back by his two and self-conceit.” im, Mu’athibnJabal said to him, “What an evil thing to say! by Allah, O Rasoolullah, we only know good thing about him”. Rasoolullah was silent.

5. Do not put off until tomorrow what you can do today • The Prophet Returns to Madinah and Ka’b Tells Him the Truth • “When I heard that the Prophet, was on his return journey from Madinah,I became very upset and began to think up lies. But I resolved to stick to the truth. Rasoolullah arrived in the morning. Whenever he came back from a journey, he would first go to the mosque and pray two rak’aa there and then would sit to receive the people. Those who had stayed behind went to him making their excuses, swearing that they were telling the truth to him.

6. There were eighty such men in all. He accepted what they claimed and asked Allah to forgive them. When I greeted him, he gave an angry look and said, “come here "walked up and sat down in front of him. He said to me, What kept you back? Didn’t you buy a camel? I said, ‘ oh Messenger of Allah, by Allah, if I was sitting with anyone else in the world I would think that I could escape his anger by making some excuse. I am gifted in argumentation, but, by Allah, I know that if were to tell you false story today that might satisfy you with regard to me, Allah will soon make you angry with me. If I tell you the truth, you will be angry with me, but I hope for a good outcome from Allah.

7. By Allah, I do not have any excuse. By Allah, I have never been stronger nor wealthier than when I remained behind you.” • Rasoolullah said, “This one spoken the truth. Get up until Allah decides about you.” Some men followed and said to me, ‘by Allah, we have not known you to commit a wrong action before this. You could have offered an excuse to the Prophet like the others who stayed behind? The Prophet’s prayer for forgiveness would have erased your wrong action. By Allah they continued to reproach me until I wanted to return to the Prophet and deny what I had said.

8. Then I said to them, Has anyone received the same treatment from Rasoolullah as I did? They said, ‘yes, Murarahibn-urRabee, and HilalibnUmayyah .” They mentioned to me two righteous men of good charcrter who had been present at Badr. I was determined to remain truthful.

9. The Prophet and the Muslims OsstracizedKa’b • The Prophet forbade people from speaking to the three of us out of all those who remained behind. So the people avoided us. The earth seemed strange to me and it was not the same Earth I used to know. • We remained under this boycott for fifty days. My two companions were depressed and stayed in their homes, weeping. I was the youngest of them . I used to go out and attend the prayer with the Muslims. I would walk in the markets, but no one would speak to me. • I went to Rasoolullah and greeted him while he was in his assembly after the prayer and would say to myself, Did he move his lips to return the greeting or not?

10. I would pray near him and sneak a look at him and he would look at me while I attended to my prayer, but when I turned towards him, he would turn away from me. • During harshness of the Muslims I climbed over the wall the of Abu Qatadah’s garden. He was my cousin and the dearest of people to me. I greeted him, and by Allah, he did not return the greeting to me. I said to him, “I ask you by Allah, do you not know that I love Allah and His Messenger?” He was silent, and I repeated my question and he was still silent. I again repeated my question and he said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” My eyes overflowed with tears and I turned and climbed back over the wall.

11. A Great Test • While I was walking in the market of Madinah, a farmer from Syria, who had brought food to sell in Madinah, said, “who will direct me to Ka’bibn Malik.? The people led him to me and he handed me a letter from the king of Ghassan, a Tribe in Northern Arabia. I was a Scribe, so I read it, “It has reached us that your companion (Prophet Muhammad) has been harsh to you. Allah has not put you in a place to be to be humiliated. Join us and we will support you.” When I read it, I said, “This is also part of the test, "and I threw it in the oven to burn it up.

12. The Situation Worsens • When forty of the fifty days had passed, and revelation had still not been conveyed. A messenger from the Prophet came to me and said, “ Rasoolullah commands you to withdraw from your wife.” I said, “ I to divorce her or what? He said, “No just withraw from her and do not go near her.”He sent the the same message to my two companions. • I remained like that for ten days until fifty days had passed from rhe.

13. The Good News:Allah forgives Ka’b • The on the up morning after the fiftieth day, I prayed Fajr on the roof of my house. While sitting up there I heard someone shouting at the top of his voice, “Kabibn Malik, good news for you!” • I fell down in prostration (sujood-ush-Shukr) and felt a wave of relief sweep over my body. • Rasoolullah announced to the people that Allah hat turned towards us after he prayed the Fajr prayer. The people came to bring the good news. They also went to my two companions with the good news. Crowds of people met me to congratulate me on Allah’s turning towards me. They were saying to me, “enjoy the turning of Allah towards you!” until I reached the mosque.

14. Ka’b to Give Sadaqah • Ka’b said, “when I greeted the Messenger of Allah his face was shining with joy and he said, "rejoice in the best day that has come to since your bore you!” I said, “is it from you, Messenger of Allah, or from Allah!” He said, “indeed it is from Allah!” • When I sat down in front of him, I said, ‘Messenger of Allah, part of my repentance is that I give out all of my property as sadaqah for Allah and His Messenger,”

15. Honesty Helps • I said to Rasoolullah, “oh Rasoolullah, Allah Almighty has saved me because I was honest, and part of my repentance is that I will speak nothing but the truth for as long as I live.”

16. Stretch your mind • How many days did the campaign to the Tabook last? For how many days did the Prophet and the Muslims ostracize Ka’b and other two companions who lagged behind? What lesson can you learn from that? • Compare the hardship Abu Tharr Al-Ghifari went through hardshipwhen he followed the Muslims alone in the desert with the hardship that Ka’b went through after the Muslims returned to Madina. Indicate which which hardship you would rather go through if you had to choose between them.

17. Study Questions • Who are the believers who stayed in Madina behind the Prophet without a good excuse? • What made Ka’b stay behind? • What did Ka’b tell the Prophet when he explained why he stayed benind? • What did the hypocrites tell the Prophet? Did he believe them? • What punishment did Ka’b and his two counterparts receive from Allah? • How did the ordeal of Ka’b end?

18. 6 What was the greatest lesson Ka’b learned during the course of the ordeal he went through? • 7 Who died shortly after the Prophet returned to Madina? Describe what the Prophet did about that?