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Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) asiapacificstemcells.org | Ibn-Sina: ishim.net |
Miqdad ibn al-Aswad al-Kindi (Arabic: مقداد بن الأسود الكندي) was a Sahaba of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. Miqdad is venerated by Shi'a Muslims as one of the Four Companions, early Muslims who were followers of Ali ibn Abi Talib. Miqdad ibn Aswad is among Shi'as regarded as one of the most respected Sahaba. He is mentioned in one Hadith regarding the perfect Shia, he was one of the Muhajirun and he is also among the List of Sahaba not giving Bay'ah to Abu Bakr. Miqdad ibn Aswad Al-Kindi belonged to the Kunda tribe. He escaped from his tribe and inhabited Mecca. In Mecca, Miqdad belonged to a man named Al-Aswad bin Abid Yaqut. So, people started calling him Miqdad ibn Aswad. Islam rose from the top of the Hira Mount. Miqdad ibn Aswad Al-Kindi became twenty-four years old. He heard about the Islamic Prophet Muhammad’s mission. He hurried to believe in the new religion. He kept his Islam a secret. He met the Islamic Prophet Muhammad secretly. Thus, he was among the earlier Muslims. He always felt the Muslims' sufferings. The Islamic Prophet Muhammad ordered his companions to immigrate to Medina. They immigrated one by one or group by group. After some time, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad received orders from Allah to immigrate to Medina also. When the Islamic Propeht Muhammad reached Medina, Miqdad ibn Aswad Al-Kindi rejoiced by seeing the Islamic Prophet Muhammad reaching Medina safely. Miqdad ibn Aswad Al-Kindi admired Ali ibn Abu Talib (the first Shia Imam and the fourth Sunni Caliph) who sacrificed his life to save the Islamic Prophet Muhammad from the polytheists' swords. When the Islamic Prophet Mohammad immigrated to Medina, the polytheists attacked and robbed the Muslims' houses. The Islamic Prophet Mohammad thought about threatening the Quraishi trade caravan as a punishment. Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib headed the first company and went towards al-Ays area near the Red Sea. There he met the polytheistic troops headed by Abu Jahl. No fight took place because some Arab leaders mediated between the two parties. In the Islamic month of Shawwal (1 A.H.), another company went out. The number of the company was sixty fighters. Its aim was to get to Rabgh Valley to threaten the Quraishi trade road between Mecca and Damascus. In Ramadan (2 A.H.), 313 Muslim fighters mobilized outside of Medina to attack a Quraishi trade caravan which was on its way to Damascus from Mecca. The caravan was very big and it was led by Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, and it had approximately one thousand camels. When the Muslims immigrated from Mecca to Medina, the polytheists attacked and robbed their houses. For this reason, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad wanted to bring back the Muslims' money. Besides that, he also wanted to punish the Quraish. So, he began threatening their trade caravans. The Muslims camped near Badr wells. They were waiting for the arrival of the caravan. After a period of time, they heard the bad news. The news was that Abu Sufyan changed the route of the caravan. Meanwhile, the Quraish were preparing a big army with good weapons to save the caravan from the Muslims’ attack. The Muslims went out to control the trade caravan. They were not thinking about facing the big army. The Islamic Prophet Muhammad asked his companions for their opinions. Umar ibn Al-Khattab stood up and said: "It's Quraish and its disloyalty. By Allah! It (the Quraish) has not become abase but it became strong. And it has not believed (in Allah) since it disbelieved (in him)". The Muslims were very worried when they heard Umar's words. Moreover, some of them thought about coming back to Medina. During those sensitive moments, Miqdad ibn Aswad Al-Kindi stood up and said with enthusiasm: "Allah's Apostle, go on and obey Allah's order! We'll support you! By Allah, we won't say as the Jews had said to their prophet: You and your lord, go and fight! We'll stay here! We say: You and your lord, go and fight, we'll support you"! Happy expression appeared on the Islamic Prophet Muhammad’s face. Then The Islamic Prophet Muhammad said to the Ansars: “What shall I do"? Saad ibn Maadh answered: “Allah's Apostle, we've believed in you, we've believed you. We've confessed to what to have said as the truth. We've promised to hear and obey! Then, Allah's Apostle, go on what you've wanted! By Allah! If you asked us to cross the Red Sea, we would do"! The Muslims were full of enthusiasm. They got ready to face the polytheists with hearts filled with faith. The fight started. The Muslims won it. Then they came back and remembered Miqdad ibn Aswad Al-Kindi’s words. Near Badr wells, the Muslims heard that the polytheists would form an army. The Islamic Prophet Muhammad asked his companions' opinions. Some companions advised him to come back to Madina. Meanwhile the Muslims were very worried. During those moments, al-Miqdad stood up and said enthusiastic words. The words made the Muslims full of faith. When the fight broke out, the Muslims fought bravely. In the meantime, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, asked Allah to grant His believing slaves a victory. After only a few hours, the Muslims could defeat the polytheists. Allah took revenge on Abu Jahal and Umayyah bin Khulaif, for they had tortured the Muslims. Besides, the Muslims captured some polytheists, such as al-Nadhar bin al-Harith, Akabah bin Abu-Myad, and others. Al-Miqdad captured al-Nadhar bin al-Harith. The Muslims took the prisoners of war and headed for Medina. When they reached al-Atheel area, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad ordered a Muslim to kill al-Nadhar bin al-Harith. Al-Nadhar bin al-Harith had tortured the Muslims in Makkah. So, the Muslims prayed for Allah to save them from him. For this reason, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad ordered Ali bin Abu Talib to kill al-Nadhar bin al-Harith to save the deprived Muslims from his torture. Al-Miqdad said: “O Allah's Apostle, he's my prisoner"! The Islamic Prophet Muhammad knew that al-Miqdad wanted ransom. So, he raised his hands towards the sky and said: “Allah make al-Miqdad rich with your favor!” Al-Miqdad became satisfied with the Islamic Prophet’s prayers. So, he handed the enemy of Islam and of humanity to the Muslims to punish him. The Islamic Prophet Muhammad asked his companions to treat the prisoners of war kindly. Besides he released some prisoners without ransom because they were poor. And he asked the prisoners who could read and write to teach the Muslims' children as ransom. After their defeat at the Battle of Badr, the polytheists decided to take revenge on the Muslims. So, they formed a big army. The number of the army was three thousand fighters. The polytheists advanced towards Medina. When they reached it, they left their camels and horses to graze on its pastures. They did that to challenge the Muslims. The Islamic Prophet Muhammad asked the advice of his companions. Some companions advised him to stay at Medina, and some advised him to go out of it. The Muslim young men were eager to start the battle outside Medina. So, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad decided to go out of Medina. The Muslim army got to the Uhud Mount. There, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad prepared his troops to start the battle. The Islamic Prophet Muhammad ordered the best fifty bow men to stay on al-Ainain Mount, a small mountain, to guard the Muslims from the back. When the battle broke out, the polytheist’s horsemen tried to attack the Muslims from the back. So, the bow men faced them, stopped their attack, and forced them to withdraw. The polytheists tried three times, but they failed because the Muslim horsemen headed by al-Miqdad faced their attack and fought them bravely. The polytheists headed by Khalid ibn al-Walid came back to their positions. During those moments, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad ordered the Muslims to launch an opposite attack to drop the polytheist’s banner to weaken their spirits. Strong fights took place around the banner. When the banner dropped from a fighter's hand, another raised it. Finally, the banner dropped. So, the Muslims defeated the polytheists. The polytheists ran away. Their idol fell off the camel. The bow men saw the polytheists running away. And they saw their Muslim brothers chasing them and collecting booty. They came down the mountain. Their leader reminded them of our Master Muhammad's advice, but they said: “The polytheists have run away There's no need to stay”. During that moment Khalid ibn al-Walid and his horsemen launched a severe attack. So, the remaining bow men could not resist the attack. The polytheist horsemen took the Muslims by surprise. Hence, the Muslims were in chaos. In the meantime, some Muslims were killed and others were wounded. When the polytheists saw the Muslims' chaotic condition, they came back and carried their banner. So, the Muslim Army was between two forces. The horsemen were at their back, and the infantry were in front of them. The polytheists tried to kill the Islamic Prophet Muhammad to destroy Islam totally. But the sincere companions such as Ali bin Abi Talib, Al-Miqdad, Al-Zubair, Mus`ab ibn `Umair, Abu Dujana Al-Ansari, Sahal bin Hunaif, and others resisted the polytheists bravely. They defended the Islamic Prophet Muhammad against them. The Islamic Prophet Muhammad, decided to withdraw his troops to the Uhud Mount to defend themselves against the polytheists easily. While the Islamic Prophet Muhammad and his troops were withdrawing, they fought the polytheists till they reached the Uhud heights. So, after a while, the polytheists stopped their attacks. The Battle of Uhud was a lesson for the Muslims. They learnt a lot from it. They learned how to obey the Islamic Prophet Muhammad at any rate, for obedience to him meant victory, and disobedience meant defeat. The Islamic Prophet Muhammad was badly wounded. The reason was that he ordered the bow men not to leave their place on al-Ainain Mount at any rate, but they forgot his order. The Arab tribes scorned the Muslims' shaken reputation. Meanwhile, the hypocrites and the Jews rejoiced at their misfortune. For this reason, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad wanted to restore Islam to its reputation. So, he reorganized his troops to chase the polytheists. Though wounded, the Muslims obeyed and supported the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. So, he took them and headed for a place called Hamraa al-Asad. The Jews were surprised to see the Muslims going with enthusiasm to face the polytheist’s army a day after the Battle of Uhud. The polytheists thought about attacking Medina again to destroy Islam completely. So, Abu Sufyan had camped at al-Rouhaa. Abu Sufyan heard about the approaching Muslim army. He was worried, for he knew that the Muslims' defeat was because of the bow men's neglect. So, he withdrew his fighters to Mecca. He tried to frighten the Muslims. Thus, he sent them his threats to Hamraa al-Asad. The Muslims did not pay attention to his threats. They went on camping at Hamraa al-Asad for three days. They were burning fire at night to challenge the polytheists. Abu Sufyan was afraid. So, he ordered his troops to withdraw to Mecca. Thus, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad could restore Islam to its former reputation in the Arab Peninsula. Miqdad ibn Aswad Al-Kindi deeply believed in Allah and teachings of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. One day, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad said: “Allah has ordered me to love four (persons), and He has told me that He loves them. The persons are Ali, al-Miqdad, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, and Salman al Farisi.” When the Islamic Prophet Muhammad died, some companions were certain that his successor would be Ali bin Abu Talib. Still some Muhajirun and Ansars held a meeting in Bani Saaida's Saqifah (Shelter). There was a serious competition for the Caliphate, but eventually Abu Bakr was appointed as the caliph. Al-Miqdad, Salman, Ammar ibn Yasir, Abu-Dhar, Abu-Ayoob al-Ansary, Abbas bin Abdul-Muttalib, and others were surprised and disappointed at that appointment. So, they stood by Imam Ali bin Abu Talib. Ali ibn Abi Talib insisted on his attitude. Fatima al-Zahra (the wife of Ali ibn Abi Talib and daughter of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad) supported him. Fatima al-Zahra was displeased with what had happened after her great father's passing away. She died six months after Abu-Bakr's Caliphate. Ali ibn Abi Talib was forced to acknowledge Abu Bakr to avoid disunity, he was forced to take the oath of allegiance. Then the other companions acknowledged him, too. Al-Miqdad paid homage and began waging holy war. He taught people the Qur'an. His reading became famous all over Damascus. Al-Miqdad stayed loyal to Allah and the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. He did not change his opinion. The Second Caliph appointed six persons. They were Ali bin Abi Talib, Uthman bin Affan, Abdur Rahman bin Awf, Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas, Al-Zubayr, and Talha ibn Ubayd-Allah. The appointed persons held a meeting to elect one of them caliph. Some Companions, once again hoped, that Ali ibn Abi Talib would be elected. Thus al-Miqdad shouted to make the appointed person hear: “If you appoint Ali caliph, we'll hear and obey.” Ammar bin Yasir supported al-Miqdad. But the ambitious persons played an important role. So, Uthman was appointed caliph. Al-Miqdad saw Uthman Ibn Affan deviating from the Islamic Prophet Muhammad’s behavior. However, he stayed loyal to his religion. He became ninety years old. Then he died. [edit] See also
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