*READING TIME..*
ARTICLE-20
*DURING THIS QUARANTINE TIME,*
*LETS STAY HOME AND BE SAFE AND DO SOME QUALITY READING TO INCREASE OUR KNOWLEDGE….*
*HE WAS*
*ABU MAHDHURAH*
*THE BOY WHO CALLED THE ADHAN*
*Ever saw a child imitating the muadhdhin?*
Does it bring you joy? Or do you reprimand them quickly?
This is a beautiful story about this youngster who did just the same as those little kids we find in the masajid.
This happened during the time when the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam headed to Hunayn after the conquest of Makkah, in Al Ja’irranah.
*He was Abu Mahdhurah Radiyallahu Anhu whose real name was Aws Ibn Rabi’ah Radiyallahu Anhu.* He was 15 years old and was amongst the inhabitants of Makkah. He used to tend to sheep with his friends around Makkah.
One day they went to an oasis in Al Jar’irranah close to Wadi Hunayn when he heard the sound of the adhan, and this was the adhan for Dhuhr made by Bilal Radiyallahu Anhu. And because Abu Mahdhurah RA was very pleased at the beautiful voice of Bilal Radiyallahu Anhu, he started to mess around and imitate Bilal Radiyallahu Anhu.
As Bilal Radiyallahu Anhu called the adhan in the Muslim army camp, Abu Mahdhurah copied his words whilst stood amid his sheep. And because it turned out that Abu Mahdhurah RA had a beautiful and clear voice, the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam was able to hear him.
Once the adhan had finish, the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam ordered Ali Ibn Abi Talib and Zubair Ibn Awwam Radiyallahu Anhum to fetch the boy to him. As they went to the other side of the oasis and brought back Abu Mahdhurah RA and his friends, the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam asked: “Who just made the call to prayer among you?”
Feeling embarrassed and shy before the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam, all of the boys remained silent.
So the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam said to one of them: “Let me hear the adhan”. However, that particular boys voice was not very good, so he said to another boy, “You make the call to prayer”, but still it was not that good, so for the third time, he turned to Abu Mahdhurah RA and said “Make the call to prayer” and his voice was beautiful and pleasant. So the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam asked him: “Were you the one who made the call to prayer berfore?”
Abu Mahdhurah RA replied: “Yes, that was me.” With that, Abu Mahdhurah’s friends ran off and he was ordered to sit down. He feared that he was going to be punished as he made fun of Bilal RA, but look at how the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam approached him:
The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam stretched out his hand, took off his turban and supplicated for Abu Mahdhurah RA saying:
*“O Allah, bless him and guide him to Islam.”*
He then stroked his head with his hand and made the same supplication for him a second time. This character of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam made such a great impact on Abu Mahdhurah RA that it made him enter the fold of Islam.
The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam found his voice extremely beautiful, that at the time that Makkah had been conquest and there was a need for someone to become the muadhdhin in Makkah, the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam said to that Abu Mahdhurah RA was the best person for the job, so he said to him: “Go and make the call to prayer to the people of Makkah; you are now the muadhdhin of the people of Makkah.”
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Allahu’akbar! How beautiful was this story!
*It is said that because the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalaam had blessed Abu Mahdhurah RA by stroking his head that*
*He vowed to never cut his hair or shave ever again.*
*So he grew his hair very longand he continued to be the muadhdhin until his death, and this honor of becoming a muadhdhin in Makkah remained in his lineage for some 300 years.*
Let us remember this hadith:
Ibn-‘Umar (RA) that Muhammad ﷺ said; “The Mu’adhdhin will receive forgiveness to the extent the voice of his Adhān reaches; every living and non-living thing that hears his voice, supplicates for his forgiveness. In another narration it is stated: Every living and non-living thing replies to his Adhān.”
[Musnad Ahmad, Tabarānī, Bazzār, Majma’uz-Zawaīd]
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And we pray that Allah Azza Wa Jall enlightens the hearts of the kids of this Ummah to love the call of prayer and make them also amongst the people who will have the longest necks on the day of Judgment.
Aameen
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Story was taken from:
• Al Isti’ab fi Ma’rifat Al Ashab, p. 842-4
• Al Isabah fi Tamyiz As Sihabah 7/203
• Sahih Muslim Hadith no. 379
• Siyar A’lam an Nubala 3/117-119