Islamiat 61

Q. Give a brief description on account of the life of Hazrat Zaid bin Sabit & Ameer Muawiya.

Ans. Zaid Bin Sabit

He was the Chief scribe. He Belonged to Kharja tribe. He Accepted Islam before Prophet's migration
at the age of 11. He Wanted to participate in badr but Prophet did not allow him due to his young
age. He was Prophet's secretary in 3 AH. He Took part in Trench and Tabuk expeditions. He Could
speak many languages. He Learned Hebrew to talk to Jews. He Had a particularly good memory. He
was a memorizer of the Quran. He was the 1st ansar to swear allegiance to the Prophet. He
Compiled Quran during 1st and 3rd caliphate. He was Qazi of Medina during 2nd caliphate. He was
Public treasurer in 3rd caliphate. He had Clear and beautiful recitation with proper punctuation

Zayd bin Sabit was from Madinah. His father was killed in a battle and he was an orphan. He was
highly intelligent. He became a Muslim before the Migration when he was a child. When he was 11,
he could read 17 chapters of the Quran by heart. Upon the request of the Prophet (pbuh), Zayd
recited the chapters he knew by heart. The Prophet became incredibly pleased when he listened to
Zayd and complimented him Zayd bin T habit wanted to take part in the Battle of Badr, which was
the first battle between the Muslims and the polytheists, but he was not included in the army of
mujahids by the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) since he was very young. In the Battle of Badr, the
Muslims had a glorious victory. More than 70 polytheists were killed, and more than 70 polytheists
were captured. The Prophet said a slave would be freed if he taught ten Muslims to read and write.
Zayd bin T habit was one of the Companions who learned to read and write from one of the slaves
captured during the Battle of Badr.

"l was sitting next to the Messenger of Allah when some revelation was being sent down. Some
heaviness fell on him. When the heaviness fell on him, his knees were on my knees. I swear by Allah
that I had never seen anything heavier than the knees of the Messenger of Allah at that time. Then,
this heaviness disappeared. He said to me, "Write O Zayd! I picked a scapula. I wrote verse 95 of the
chapter of an-Nysa fully. When Ibn Umm Maktoum, who was blind, heard the virtues of mujahids,
he stood up and said, "O Messenger of Allah! What is the situation of those who are blind, etc. and
cannot fight in? the way of Allah?" I swear by Allah that heaviness fell on the Messenger of Allah
again as soon as Umm Maktoum finished his sentence. This time his knees were heavier. Then, the
heaviness disappeared. He said to me, "Read what you have written." When I read what I had
written, he added the phrase "without any excuse". Then, I added that phrase to the verse." Upon
the encouragement of the Prophet, he also learned Hebrew and Assyrian.

He narrates how he learned Hebrew as follows: "The Messenger of Allah said to me, 'O Zayd! Learn
the language of Jews for me. I do not trust in Jews related to my written documents.' I learned it in
two weeks. When it was necessary to write something to Jews, I wrote it." It is narrated that Hz.
Zayd also learned Assyrian. We understand from this incidence that Islam gives importance to
learning languages. As it is known, the Hebrew letters that were sent to the Prophet were translated
by Jewish translators. Or, the Prophet dictated the letters to be sent to them to Jewish translators.

Zayd bin Thabit felt deeply sorry that he could not take part in the Battle of Badr due to his age He
wished to join the jihad army very much when it was possible. Eventually, he was given a duty during
the Battle of Khandaq, where Islamic heroes worked extremely hard. He could not dig but he helped
the mujahids by carrying the soil that was dug out. When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) saw his
efforts, he appreciated him by saying, "what a nice boy!" After the task of digging the trench
finished, the Prophet sent the children to their families, but he did not send Abdullah bin Umar and
Zayd bin Thabit. He allowed them to join the battle. After the death of the Prophet, the election of
the caliph was an urgent task. Ansar and Muhajirs showed different candidates. Zayd bin T habit was
20 years old then. He was a highly active person. He helped to unite the ideas and made the
following offer: The Messenger of Allah was a muhajir. We were helpers of muhajirs. We will also be
helpers of the one to be elected as the caliph"

Ameer Muawiya

Ameer Muawiya was the first soldier-king in Islamic history. With him, the Islamic body politic came
under the sway of dynastic rule. The pattern established by him persisted until the 18th century
when the merchants of Europe supplanted the Muslim soldier-kings of Asia and Africa. An
outstanding soldier, a shrewd politician, and an able administrator, Muawiya fought Ali (r) to a
standstill and declared himself the Caliph in 658. As soon as Ali (r) was assassinated (661) Muawiya
made preparations to invade Mecca, Medina, and Iraq. Hassan ibn Ali had been elected the Caliph in
Kufi and he marched forth with a force of 12,000 Iraqis to meet Muawiya. But the Iraqis proved
unreliable allies and deserted before the battle started. At the Treaty of Mayadeen (661), Hassan
abdicated the Caliphate in favor of Muawiya in return for general amnesty and an annual stipend of
200,000 dirhams. He retired to Medina to live there as a great teacher and imam. The abdication
brought to an end the first phase of the civil wars that began with the assassination of Uthman (r). It
also consolidated the power of Muawiya over all Muslim territories.