Hearts Have Changed, Stories Of The Sahabah pdf download

Hearts have changed – Book Sample

HEARTS HAVE CHANGED

Book Contents

• Abu Hurairah ad-Dawsi al-Yamani  1
• Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith  15
• Adi ibn Hatim at-Tai27
• Ammar ibn ‘Abasah 37 1
• Amr ibn al-Jamuh  45
• Ikrimah ibn Abi Jabl 57
• Nu’aim ibn Mas’ud 69
• Nu’man ibn Muqarrin al-Muzani  87
• Salman al-Farisi  99
• Suhaib ibn Sinan ar-Rumi  113.
• Suraqah ibn Malik 123
• Thumamah ibn Athal 135
• Tufail ibn ‘Amr ad-Dawsi  143
• Uqbah ibn ‘Amir al-Juhani 151
• Wahshi ibn Harb 157
• Zaman ibn Salabah 163
• Zaid al-Khair 171
• Appendix  177

Abu Hurayrah

Abu Hurairah, is one of the best known of all the Sahabah. He was from the tribe of Daws which lived deep in the desert. He was known in those days as ‘Abd ash­ Shams, the “Servant of the Sun.”

While living among his people, he heard about Islam and became a Muslim at the hands of his friend at­ Tufail ibn ‘Amr ad-Dawsi.

The two remained with their people, trying to bring them to the way of Allah.

Because of this mission, ‘Abd ash­ Shams, didn’t come to Madinah until six year after the Hijrah. And when he finally did, ‘Abd ash­ Shams came with a large group of his tribe.

They had left all their belongings behind. ‘Abd ash­ Shams kept nothing of his material goods and relied solely on his faith.

 In Madinah, ‘Abd ash­ Shams lived with the Ahl-as-Suffah, “the People of the Bench.”

These were very poor men who had been given a place to stay within the masjid of Rasulullah itself.

‘Abd ash-Shams loved Madinah and was very eager to meet the Blessed Prophet – When he first met Rasulullah , the Prophet asked him, “What’s your name?” “‘Abd ash-Shams,” he replied.

“It is better to be ‘Abd ar-Rahman, the Servant of the Merciful,” said Rasulullah – It was known that people were asked to changed their names if their names had any connotation of idolatry or paganism.

“As you command! I would sacrifice my mother and my father for you, 0 Messenger of Allah!” said the new ‘Abd ar-Rahman – This is a phrase that Arabs said when they really loved someone, because it would be unheard of to love anyone more than one’s father and mother.

Hearts have changed, Hearts have changed

People said this to the Prophet very often, and they meant it. So the venerable Sahabi’s name was changed to ‘Abd ar-Rahman, but this still was not the name by which people commonly called him.

There were many cats living in the Masjid an-Nabawi in those days, and of course there were many kittens as well.

They used to hide in the long sleeves of Abd ar-Rahman’s jubba (a long robe).

 In fact he was often seen with kittens all over him! Pretty soon everyone was calling him Abu Hurairah, the “father of a kitten.” This name spread so far that it overtook both his other names.

In time, Abu Hurairah became very close to the Messenger, and the Prophet gave him his own personal nickname. Instead of calling him Abu Hurairah, the Prophet would call him Abu Hirr (Hirr means a fully grown cat).

Having been given this nickname, Abu Hurairah felt very close to Rasulullah and he came to prefer “Abu Hirr” over “Abu Hurairah” because, he would say, “My beloved Rasulullah used to call me by that name.”

Abu Hurairah had no wife or child in the lifetime of the Prophet – Living in the Masjid an­ Nabawi, he listened to everything that was said, took part in every act of worship, had the Prophet, as teacher and Imam, and devoted himself to worship, study, and the service of Rasulullah –

The only relative that Abu Hurairah had was his mother, who was very old. She insisted on following the old Arab faith, but Abu Hurairah never stopped talking to her about Islam. He was a dutiful son and he continued to love and serve her.

But she kept rejecting his call to Islam and Abu Hurairah’s heart was filled with grief.

One day, as he was asking her to believe in Allah and His Messengershe called the Prophet some bad names that hurt Abu Hurairah deeply.

He went weeping to the Prophet ‘ who asked, “What makes you cry, my Abu Hirr?”

“I am always calling my mother to Islam and she keeps refusing,” he replied.

 “Today, I spoke to her again and she said things to me about you that deeply offended me. O Beloved Messenger, please ask Allah to soften her heart!”

The Prophet lb was so moved that he made a Du ‘a for her right there.

What happened next was truly a miracle. As Abu Hurairah told it, “I went home and found the door half-opened and heard water being poured.

When I was about to go in, my mother said, “Stay where you are, Abu Hurairah.”

She got dressed and told me to come in.

I entered and she said, “I testify that there is no deity but Allah and that Muhammad is His worshipper and messenger…”

Abu Hurairah returned to the Prophet with tears flowing from happiness, just as he had come an hour before crying from sadness.

He said, “I bring you good news, O Rasulullah. Allah has responded to your Du ‘a and guided my mother to Islam…”

Sincere love for the Prophet

Abu Hurairah’s c love for the Prophet was part of his very being. He could never get tired of looking upon the nur (light) of the Prophet’s face.

Hearts have changed

He used to say, “I never saw anyone more handsome or more radiant than the Prophet – It was as if the sun was in his face…”

He used to thank Allahfor allowing him to be a Sahabi of the Messenger – He used to say, “Praise be to Allah Who guided me to Islam… Praise be to Allah Who taught me the Qur’an… Praise be to Allah Who granted me the companionship of Muhammad …”

The Gift of a Special Memory

The Sahabi Zaid ibn Thabit once said, “While Abu Hurairah and I were in the Masjid praying and remembering Allah, the Prophet came to us and sat down. Out of respect we kept silent. But he said, ‘Go back to what you were doing.’

“Before Abu Hurairah began, I started making a Du ‘a to which the Prophetkept saying ‘Amin.’

“Then Abu Hurairah made a Du ‘a, saying: ‘O Allah, I ask of You what my friend has asked of You, and I ask you for knowledge that is never to be forgotten.’