In this episode, we will discuss the educational aspects of the Yama War. Because in this battle, Persian Muslims died and a large number of Muslims were also killed, which bears the memory of the Battle of Uhud. We will first discuss the first hero of this war, Bara ibn Wali. He was the brother of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him). We know about Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he was a close friend of Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). Sheikh Ibrahim Nasrul Ullah, his book Basak Bil Aswad describes the brave men. In that book, he mentioned the brave men of this Ummah and there he mentioned Bara ibn Wali. One day Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) saw his brother Barak Waliullah reciting poetry. He went to him and said, “O my brother, what if you die while reciting poetry?” When the Quran was first revealed, the people of Arabia used to recite various kinds of poetry in addition to the verses of the Quran, which is why Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) did not like this type of poetry. Another narration states that he told his brother to recite the Quran, and the brother’s response to answer was very surprising. He replied that I cannot die lying in bed like this because I have killed 99 infidels. That is, Barak (may Allah be pleased with him) fought with such bravery that he thought that Allah would grant him a brave death. During the Battle of Yamama, Barak (may Allah be pleased with him) told the companions that “You put me on a shield, then carry the shield with the head of a spear and throw me over the wall with the shield!” Then he was thrown, he opened the gate of that fort, but then he received more than eighty wounds on his body. He showed that life and death are in the hands of Allah alone, and that it is not the case that someone who lies on a bed all the time will live a long life. Barak ibn Walid, may Allah be pleased with him, alone, with the help of his companions, climbed over the wall and entered the midst of the enemies, killing them, and being wounded himself, opened the door of the garden, as a result of which the Muslim army was able to easily enter the garden and win the battle. Barak ibn radiyallahu anhu suffered more than 80 wounds but still fought bravely and was able to open the gate of the garden. Not only that, he participated in many other battles after this battle. He was such a brave warrior that Hazrat Umar (RA) gave written instructions that he should not be made a commando in any battle because if he were to be a commando in any army, he would completely annihilate the enemy army. When Abu Musa was appointed governor of Basra, he told Baraqwali to choose his own path and position. Then Barak ibn radiyallahu anhu replied that I do not want any of these, but give me a shield, and a sword so that I can fight, and later he was sent to various battles according to his wishes.
The next discussion we are going to have is about Salem Hudhaifa (may Allah be pleased with him) and Abu Hudhaifa. Salem was a slave and his master was Abu Hudhaifa. Abu Hudhayfah was one of the first people to embrace Islam in Mecca. And he freed his slave Salem, who later converted to Islam. They embraced Islam at the same time, migrated, and even died at the same time in the Battle of Yamama. We know that after the Battle of Yamama, there was a chaos and Khalid bin Walid reorganized the army. He divided his army into three parts: the Ansar, the Muhajirs, and the Bedouins. This Salem was holding the flag of the Mahajir army. A man was displeased to see the flag of Mahajid in Salem’s hand and told him that he was not worthy to carry this flag. In reply, Salem said that I am worthy of this flag because I may die carrying it. Salem was a Quran reciter and not only him but many Quran reciters died in the Battle of Yamama. He said that I have the Quran inside me and I am carrying the flag and if I die while carrying this flag, then know that a Quran bearer has died. That is, he meant that I have the Quran within me and in that state, I will never flee from the battlefield for fear of the enemy. And that’s exactly what happened. He fell into a hole with the Salem flag and from there he continued to fight, meaning he couldn’t move anywhere. On the other hand, in his mind, Hudhayfah was saying to his followers, “O my followers, adorn the Quran with your deeds and establish it with your actions.” In this way they were encouraging the Muslims and in this battle they both attained martyrdom at the same time.
The next companion was Ansar ibn Aqi. Many times we say that it is a requirement of faith. Here the question may arise, what is the requirement of faith? That is, doing something to establish Islam is a requirement of faith. Many times we see that we need to do many things but no one is doing them, then one or two people come forward and do them. This is the demand of faith. Ansar ibn Aqi was wounded in battle, an arrow pierced his shoulder, and he was receiving treatment in a tent behind the battlefield. While undergoing treatment, he heard someone shouting from the battlefield, “Ansar, come out and fight!” Hearing this, he could no longer remain still. He stood up while undergoing treatment and prepared to go to war. Then the rest of the people said to him, “Where are you going, you cannot go in this condition?” He replied, “I am being called to go.” They said, “You are not being called to leave the battlefield, but rather you are being called to overtake the other Ansar in the battle.” He replied, “I am also an Ansar.”
He jumped onto the battlefield with his sword and fought with his right hand. After a while, he was seriously injured and in that state, he hid on the ground and died there. And this incident is a demand for faith.
Another was the wife of Khalid bin Walid. Her duty was to guard an enemy commander named Maja who was being held captive. Along with this, he was also efficiently performing other tasks such as cooking and caring for the wounded.
The next unprecedented incident happened to Saeed ibn Qays. We know that people receive various instructions before they die, but the opposite happened in the case of Ibn Qays. We know that Allah says in the Quran that all the sins of the martyrs will be forgiven, but their debts will never be forgiven unless they are paid off. Saeed ibn Qays was seriously wounded in the Battle of Yamama and died. After he died, a companion saw him in a dream that night. In the dream, Saeed ibn Qays indicated to him that a companion was passing by him when he was dying and he gave him his armor. Then, at the end of the battle, the companion placed Qays’ armor on a plate behind the tent. Qays instructed the companion in a dream to take the armor and give it to Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) and to tell him the names of some people to whom Qays owed some debts and Hazrat Abu Bakr to pay them by selling his armor.
In this battle, Abu Dujanah Simaq al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred. He was the companion who fought on the day of Uhud with a red band tied around his head. In the Battle of Yamama, he broke his leg while jumping from the upper wall of the fort.
Allah Ta’ala promises seven rewards for those who will be martyred for Islam. The first reward is that as soon as the first drop of a martyr’s blood falls on the ground, Allah Almighty forgives all his past sins. The second reward is that they are shown before their death where they will be in Paradise. Thirdly, they are covered with the garment of faith. The holy women of the fourth paradise are chosen as their wives. Fifthly, they are forgiven the punishment of the grave, meaning they are not punished in the grave. Sixth, they will not suffer any pain on the Day of Judgment and they will not have any worries. And a crown will be placed on their heads, and the one that remains free from that crown will be the most precious in the world, and they will be married to seventy holy women or Hurs from Paradise. The last and seventh reward is that they will be able to intercede for their family members in Paradise. A martyr can intercede for 70 members of his family for Paradise, meaning a martyr is a mercy for his family. At the end of the discussion, we see that although a large number of Muslim forces were martyred in this war, they essentially invested, meaning they received the good news of Paradise in return for their lives. Islam is with us today because they sacrificed their lives and wealth for Islam. As we now read their biographies with ease, we should also understand and be grateful to them for the fact that Islam has survived to this day because of them. And Allah Almighty commands us to do the work that is necessary for the religion of Islam. The companions no longer expected any reward for their sacrifice, but rather they expected reward directly from Allah. Khatta (RA) was a slave who became the owner of some wealth during the time of Umar (RA). He would leave his wealth in an open place and anyone who needed it could take it from there without permission. Due to the death of many Hafiz of the Quran in the Battle of Yamama, the Quran was started to be preserved in book form from the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA). Before that, the companions used to write the Quran in different places, but since a large number of Hafiz have died, today Abu Bakr (RA) ordered the Quran to be written in book form.
