Islamic Stories,Rays of Guidance ✓

Tabuk

🍀بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم🍀
ﷺ ♥̸̨͡🍃ﷺ♥̸̨͡🍃ﷺ

A long story but please read to the end. Holds amazing lessons for us.

The Three who Stayed Behind

The story of the three who stayed behind is a very inspiring & moving story from the seerah. The story is referred to in the holy Qur'an in verses 117 & 118 of surah Al-Tawbah. The details of the story are told by Ka'ab ibn Malik Radi'allâhu anhu, who was actually one of the three men. The story goes as follows:

When the Messenger of Allah sallallaahu alayhi wasallam decided to launch the Tabuk expedition, he asked all able-bodied men to join him, except for those who have special circumstances that would prevent them from travelling & leaving their homes for a long time. Valid excuses would be an illness or elderly parents who need care. The companions rushed to obey the Messenger sallallaahu alayhi wasallam & they prepared themselves for the long trip.

The Tabuk expedition occured a very inopportune time for most people. It was a very hot time of the year, & most people avoided long travels during this time. The distance from Al-Madinah to Tabuk was over 500 kilometers, a trip that would take many days by foot or on camels & horses. Also, it was the time of harvest for many owners of gardens around Al-Madinah. Travelling at this time would mean that they would not be able to harvest, & would incur large financial losses.
Yet, even with all of these difficulties, the vast majority of companions obeyed the Messenger sallallaahu alayhi wasallam without question. They took their provisions, prepared their belongings & were ready to join the Messenger. The holy Qur'an even mentions people whose tears would flow when they were told by the Messenger sallallaahu alayhi wasallam that he was not able to accomodate them in the expedition (Al-Tawbah, verse 92).

The hypocrites hated the idea of travelling at this time. They preferred to stay at their homes to avoid the heat & the hardship. They wanted to harvest their crops & gain the financial benefits. They thought that it is illogical to travel at this time, & that they must take care of their families & provide for them. So they started to look for any excuse to disobey the Messenger. They started to tell each other & the believers not to go out in this intense heat, & Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala answered them in the holy Qur'an by saying that the heat of the Hellfire is even more intense, if they would just understand! (Al-Tawbah, verse 81).

We need to stop at this point for a moment & reflect upon the actions of the hypocrites. Many of us today, when we are told to obey the commandments of Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala & the Messenger sallallaahu alayhi wasallam, we also make excuses, some of them are very similar to those made by the hypocrites at the time of the Tabuk expedition. For example, some of our dear sisters who do not wear the hijab would say that it would be too hot in the summer. Some of our dear brothers, when asked why they do not attend the Friday prayer every week explain that they do not want to look bad in front of their boss by being away for an hour every Friday afternoon. Almost all of us have made such excuses at one point or another in our life. It makes one wonder, if the Messenger sallallaahu alayhi wasallam was among us today & the revelation was still coming down, how many verses would be revealed about us & the excuses that we make for not following the commandments of Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala & the Messenger sallallaahu alayhi wasallam ? May Allah Subhana Wa ta'ala guide us all & make us follow the footsteps of the companions who obeyed Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala & the Messenger sallallaahu alayhi wasallam without question & without hesitation.

The Messenger sallallaahu alayhi wasallam left with a large number of the companions towards Tabuk. Some of the companions were late making last minute arrangements but they continued catching up & joining the Messenger sallallaahu alayhi wasallam. Only the hyporcites & those with a valid excuse were left behind. After some time, the Messenger sallallaahu alayhi wasallam started asking about people whom he didn't see. He wanted to know who obeyed the orders & who rejected them. It was as if he knew that this was more than an expedition. This was a test of faith. Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala wanted to test the Muslims to see who are the true & sincere believers & who are the people who will make up any excuse to stay in their comfortable life & to avoid any hardship for the sake of Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala.