Biography of Sayyiduna Abu Jabir Abdullah Bin Amr رضی اللہُ عنہ

Shining Stars

Abū Jābir ꜤAbdullah b. ꜤAmr b. Ḥarām

Mawlana Adnan Ahmad Attari Madani

A Companion prepared a meat and flour dish called khazīrah and sent his son to take it to the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. When the son arrived, the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم asked, “Is this meat?” “No, this is khazīrah!” the son replied. “My father commanded me to present it to you.”

The son returned to his father and informed him of what the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم had said.  Hearing this, the Companion said, “Perhaps the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم wishes to eat meat.” He then slaughtered and  cooked one of his livestock. He then asked his son to present it before the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. The son did so, and when asked about it, he related the entire account that had just occurred. The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said, “May Allah grant the Anṣār, in particular ꜤAbdullah bin ꜤAmr and SaꜤd bin ꜤUbādah, a good recompense on our behalf.”^[1]

This caring Companion was Sayyidunā Abū Jābir ꜤAbdullah b. ꜤAmr b. Ḥarām رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ.

His Person and Virtues

He had a fair complexion.^[2]  Along with the honour of pledging allegiance upon the blessed hands of the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم in a valley of Makka al-Mukarrama with 69 other people, he is also from the twelve representatives and leaders of the people and a foremost participant in the Expedition of Badr.^[3]

His sentiments upon accepting Islam 

When taking the oath of allegiance at the blessed hands of the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, everyone fell quite as he declared:

By Allah! We are warriors, brought up in battle and accustomed to war. We are the inheritors of our ancestors in combat. We fire arrows, and when we run out, we fight with spears. When our spears break, we attack the enemy with our swords. Either we are slain or we send the enemy to their deaths.^[4]

A Dream

Prior to the Expedition of Uḥud, he beheld Mubashir b. ꜤAbd Mundhir رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ in a dream, who was martyred in the Expedition of Badr. The latter said, “You are about to come to us.”

 “Where are you?” Abū Jābir asked. Mubashir answered, “In Paradise; we travel in it wherever we wish.”

Abū Jābir then asked, “Were you not martyred in Uḥud?” Mubashir said, “Indeed! We are martyrs.”

He related this dream to the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم who declared, “O Abū Jābir! This is martyrdom.”^[5]

Battle of Uḥud’s first martyr

On the night preceding Uḥud, he called his son Jābir رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ and said, “I feel I will be the first martyr from the Companions of the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. After the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, you are the most beloved person to me. I have a debt that I owe; clear it on my behalf and treat your sisters well.”^[6]

Martyrdom

He was martyred on 15^th Shawwal, 3 AH.^[7]  His son, Jābir رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ said, “We saw that in the morning, the first of the martyrs was my father.”^[8] The enemy had cut off his nose and ears after martyring him. Due to this, his blessed body was brought forth after the battle covered by a sheet. His son Jābir رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ, attempted to remove the cloth, but people prevented him. When the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم issued a command for the funeral bier to be lifted, the sound of Abū Jābir’s sister crying was heard. Hearing this, the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said, “Why does she cry? Until the bier was lifted, the angels were continuously shading it with their wings.”^[9]  Giving the command for his burial, the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم then said, “Look at ꜤAmr b. Jamūḥ and ꜤAbdullah b. ꜤAmr b. Ḥarām; these two had a special connection in this world, so bury them in one grave.”^[10]

Children

Apart from his son Jābir رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ, he had seven or nine daughters.^[11]

His Rank before Allah

On one occasion, the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said, “O Jābir! I see you sad and disturbed.” He replied, “My father has been martyred, whilst he left behind a family and debt.” The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said, “Shall I not give you a glad tiding?” When Sayyidunā Jābir رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ humbly said yes, the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم remarked:

Allah gave life to your father and spoke to him without any barrier between them. “My servant!” Allah declared. “Explain your desire to me; I shall fulfil it.” Your father replied, “Return me to the world so I may be martyred seeking Your pleasure.” Allah informed him, “I have already ordained that none shall return from here.”^[12]

The Debt

The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم instructed Jābir رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ, “Go and make separate piles of every kind of date.” He promptly did this. The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم arrived and sat between the piles of dates which were of optimal quality. “Measure and give these out to people,” the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said.  Jābir رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ continued to measure and give out dates until his debt was fulfilled. His dates remained as they were, as though not even one had been taken.^[13]

Sound of Quranic recital from the grave

Ṭalḥah b. ꜤUbaydullāh رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ relates:

Some of my wealth was in a forest ˹near Madina˺. At night, I thought to myself, “If I ride my horse to my home, it will be better.” So I set off. As I passed by the graves of the martyrs of Uḥud, I heard the Quran being recited from the grave of ꜤAbdullah b. ꜤAmr b. Ḥarām رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ, so I stopped there. I had not heard a better recital than it.”^[14]

Opening of the Grave after 46 Years

Jābir رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ explains:

A long period of 46 years had passed, and a canal was constructed during the caliphate of Amīr MuꜤāwiyah رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ.  Subsequently, the surviving inheritors of the martyrs were advised to relocate the bodies of the martyrs of Uḥud near this canal. When the bodies were removed from their graves, their limbs were fresh (like those of the living). My father appeared as though he were sleeping. The cloth in which he had been shrouded was the same and the grass that had been placed over his feet (due to the shroud being short) remained as it was.

The testimony of the people present was that Sayyidunā ꜤAbdullah b. ꜤAmr b. Ḥarām رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ had his hand upon the wound on his face. When his hand was removed, blood began to flow from the wound and when it was placed back, the blood stopped flowing.”^[15] A musk-like fragrance was emanating from the graves of the martyrs thereupon.^[16]

May Allah make us from those that love, respect and act upon the life examples of the honourable Companions عَـلَيْهِمُ الرِّضْوَانْ.