The U’lamâ who wrote biographies—Allah have mercy on them—relate that after the decease of Bâdân, the Governor of Yemen, the apostle of God, having one day terminated the matutinal prayers, turned his blessed face towards his companions, and said: ‘O ye Mohâjer and Anssâr, who of you is willing to go to Yemen?’ Abu Bakr rose, and said: ‘O apostle of God, may my father and mother be a sacrifice for thee! I am ready to go.’ His lordship, however, replied nothing. After awhile the apostle repeated the same words; and O’mar rose, saying: ‘O apostle of God, I shall go!’ But his lordship said neither yea nor nay. When he had uttered the words for the third time, Moa’adh B. Jabal rose, and said: ‘If thou wilt allow, I shall do this business. May my father and mother be a sacrifice for thee, as well as my own life, O apostle of God!’ To these words of Moa’adh, his lordship the refuge of termination replied: ‘Yes; thou art fit for the business, and the business is fit for thee.’ Then he said: ‘Ballâl, bring my turban.’ Ballâl obeyed, and his lordship placed the blessed turban with his own blessed hands on the head of Moa’adh, and, having mounted him on a camel, he proceeded with the Anssâr and the Mohâjer, all of whom were on foot, in the company of Moa’adh, his lordship walking by the side of the latter, and imparting to him his instructions. On that occasion Moa’adh said: ‘O apostle of God, I am mounted and thou art on foot; wilt thou allow me to alight and to walk with thy companions?’ But the prophet replied: ‘I believe I am walking on the business of God the Most High, O Moa’adh. I enjoin thee to be pious, of veracious speech and righteous dealing. I command thee to surrender anything which may be deposited with thee, to avoid fraud, to be kind, to abstain from everything illicit, to perform all duties, to give alms to the poor, to be of fair address, and to be forward in saluting the people. Be afraid of the day of reckoning and of requital, and prefer the blessings of the next to the goods of the present world. O Moa’adh, insult no Musalmân, believe no liar, disbelieve no veracious person, and disobey no righteous superior. O Moa’adh, whatever good I covet for myself, that I covet for thee; and whatever evil I desire to avoid, I wish thee to escape from likewise. O Moa’adh, visit the sick, and quickly relieve widows and destitute women. Be familiar with orphans, associate with poor persons, and prefer the interests of others to thy own. Step not out from the circle of righteousness, and let no insult of any man which he utters for the sake of truth offend thee. O Moa’adh, were another meeting after this possible between thee and me, I would certainly have cut short my admonitions, but we shall see each other no more till the day of the resurrection.
It is easy to separate and meet again;
But we separate; and where do we meet again?
After Moa’adh had listened to these words of his holy and prophetic lordship, he began to weep, so that from the fire in his heart the smoke of melancholy ascended into his brains. He took leave of that prince with a grieved heart and sorrowful mind, departed to Yemen, and arrived, after performing the journey, in Ssana’a, which is the capital of that country. There the people hastened to wait on him; he mounted the pulpit, and delivered an address beginning with the praises of the Almighty Creator, and salutations to the elected Ahmad—u. w. b.—and ending with the promulgation of the treaty of the apostle of God. After he had terminated this business, the nobles and chiefs said to him: ‘We have prepared a repast for thee, as well as a lodging, with carpets and beds suited to thy dignity and position, and request thee to take possession.’ But Moa’adh replied: ‘O ye nobles of Ssana’a, God forbid that I should do so. For the favourite of Allah has sent me to visit the sick, to relieve the distress of widows and sick persons, to call on orphans, to associate with the poor and destitute, and to prefer the interests of justice to my own; to promulge the truth to the people, and not to take notice of the insults of anyone when I am preaching the commands of God.’ After that Moa’adh selected a corner [of a room] for his lodging, obtained imperishable nourishment by his pursuits, and attended to the government of that country until he heard one night the following words in a dream: ‘O Moa’adh, thou art on the couch of repose, whereas Muhammad, the apostle of God, is in the agony of death!’ He therefore leapt up weeping, and thought that perhaps the morn of the day of resurrection had dawned. When, however, he looked at the firmament with its twinkling stars in its usual condition, he thought that the words he had just heard originated either from his own hallucination or from machinations of Satan; he therefore exclaimed: ‘I take refuge with God from Satan, driven away with stones.’ During the following night he heard the words, ‘O Moa’adh, how canst thou enjoy life whilst Muhammad the apostle of God is underground?’ Moa’adh jumped up from sleep, began to weep and to moan aloud, exclaiming: ‘Alas for Muhammad!’ He shouted so violently that the people awoke, came out of their houses and gathered around him, saying: ‘Moa’adh, what is the matter with thee? What news hast thou received this night that thou lamentest so much?’ Moa’adh nevertheless continued to cry and to moan till morning, whereon he mounted his camel, saying: ‘During this journey I shall not alight, except to pray or to answer a call of nature.’ While he was travelling in the night, and only three farsakhs more remained till Madinah, he heard the following words on his left side: ‘O Allah, inform Moa’adh that Muhammad has tasted the beverage of death, and has departed from this world.’ Moa’adh replied: ‘O thou who speakest to me in this dark night, who art thou?’ The voice replied: ‘I am O’mmâr Yâser.’ He asked: ‘Where art thou going?’ Yâsar replied: ‘To Yemen. And I am bearing the letter wherein Abu Bakr informs Moa’adh that Muhammad the apostle of God has joined the mercy of the Lord of both worlds:
That vault of prophecy has sunk,
That castle of apostleship is ruined,
That city of mercy is destroyed,
That Nile of grandeur has become a mirage.
Moa’adh began to cry and to lament, saying, ‘O support and refuge of the professors of the religion, O last of the apostles,
To whom will the unhappy now apply?
From whom will the poor now ask aid?
Moa’adh also said: ‘O’mmâr, I adjure thee by our connection with Muhammad, tell me in what state thou hast left the companions of the apostle.’ He replied: ‘Like a flock without a shepherd.’ Moa’adh continued: ‘How hast thou left Madinah?’ O’mmâr said: ‘I left it at a time when that city pressed more closely on its inhabitants than a ring on the finger.’ Moa’adh placed his hand on his head, and exclaimed: ‘Alas for Muhammad!’ He continued his lamentations till he reached the neighbourhood of Madinah, where an old woman pasturing sheep heard his exclamations, and said: ‘Thou servant of God, I have not beheld Muhammad, but I have seen his daughter Fattimah Zohrâ weeping for her father, and saying: “Alas, my father! the Divine revelations which were received have ceased. O my father, no heavenly message will be sent to us hereafter.” And I have seen A’li the Commander of the Faithful, who wept, and said: “O thou refuge and patron of widows and orphans, who will now relieve the former and console the latter?” I also saw Hasan and Husayn weep and say: “O possessor of both worlds, how hast Thou withdrawn Thy favour from us! To whose care, trust, and mercy hast Thou recommended us?”’ When Moa’adh had heard these words he shed rubies and pearls [of tears] from his bloodshot eyes, and poured bright jewels on the dust of the road. On the night during which he arrived in Madinah, he first went to the door of Ssiddyqah’s house and knocked. She exclaimed: ‘Who is that who knocks at midnight on a widow’s door?’ Moa’adh replied: ‘It is me, the servant of the apostle of God, Moa’adh B. Jabal.’ A’ayshah then ordered a slave-girl to open the door; Moa’adh entered weeping, and uttered a salutation, after returning which A’ayshah said: ‘Moa’adh, knowest thou that my beloved father* has departed from the perishable to the imperishable world?’ After A’ayshah had expressed other sentiments of the same kind, both wept much, and Moa’adh said: ‘O mother of the Faithful, tell me about the sickness of the apostle of God.’ A’ayshah said: ‘O Moa’adh, being unable to endure the sight of the sufferings of the apostle of God, I sometimes absented myself from his bedside. Thou must ask this question from Fattimah Zohrâ, who has attended on his lordship from the beginning of his malady till his last breath. Accordingly Moa’adh left the house of A’ayshah and went to that of Fattimah. When he knocked at the door, A’li the Commander of the Faithful—u. w. b.—asked: ‘Who is coming here at so unseasonable an hour of the night?” Moa’adh replied: ‘I, the slave of the threshold, the slave of this sublime court, the attendant on the apostle of God; I, the servant of God the Most High, Moa’adh B. Jabal.’ When Fattimah recognised the voice of Moa’adh, she ordered the Emâm Hasan to open the door. Then Moa’adh entered, condoled with Fattimah—u. w. b.—and asked her: ‘How was the prophet when the disease overwhelmed him, and what was the condition of the prince at that time?’ Fattimah replied: ‘O Moa’adh, hadst thou seen the lord of existences in the agony of death, when the hue of his countenance, endued with laudable qualities, became sometimes red and sometimes yellow, and when he occasionally glanced to the left, or fixed his eyes on the sky, saying, “A’li, convey my salutations to my friends,” life would not be sweet to thee any more. O Moa’adh, on that occasion I was attending upon and nursing the apostle of God, sitting at his bedside, when a man suddenly appeared near the door, and said: “Greeting to you, ye members of the house of prophecy. Salutation to you, ye mine of apostleship and of kindness. Will you allow me to enter the house?” I replied: “O servant of God, may the Lord of both worlds reward thee for visiting the sick, but the apostle of God cannot see anyone at present.” The angel of death then shouted to me: “Fattimah, do not oppose me, for I must enter!” Then the pain of that prince decreased, he opened his eyes, and said: “O Fattimah, knowest thou whom thou art conversing with? He is the destroyer of the enjoyments of the servants of God, the maker of widows and orphans. He asks no one for permission, he enters every house, and returns not until he has taken a life. He is called the grasper of souls and angel of death. Fattimah, allow him to enter.” When the angel of death had obtained permission, he entered, and said: “Salutation to thee, O apostle of God!” and his lordship replied: “Salutation to thee, O faithful servant of God!” “I swear by that God who has sent thee in reality, that ere this I have never entered the house of any prophet and asked for admittance, nor shall I ask for permission from anyone after thee.” His lordship asked: “Hast thou come to take my soul?” He replied: “Yes, such is the command of my Creator.” His lordship continued: “I have a request.” The angel of death asked: “What is it?” The apostle of God said: “Give me respite till my friend Jebrâil arrives, that I may ask him something.” A’zrayil replied: “I swear by that God who has sent thee to be an apostle and a mercy that I was despatched to thy threshold with orders not to overstep it until permitted, and not to engage in the taking of thy soul until allowed by thee to do so.” Then the angel of death left the apostle of God—u. w. b.—but met at the door of the house Jebrâil and Mykâyl, each of whom was accompanied by one thousand angels, who had also brought a shroud and aromatic plants from paradise. Jebrâil, perceiving the angel of death, asked him: “A’zrayil, what hast thou done to my friend? Hast thou been engaged in taking his soul or not?” A’zrayil replied: “Muhammad asked me for a respite until he should see thee, and ask some questions.” Jebrâil wept, and said: “O angel of death, return; perceivest thou not that the portals of heaven are opened, that the angels are congratulating each other at the approach of Muhammad’s spirit, that paradise is adorned, and that the Hûris with large eyes have put on their decorations and ornaments, rejoicing as they are at the advent of the soul of Muhammad?” Jebrâil then entered the noble apartment with the angel of death, and said: “Salutation to thee, O apostle of God! May God bless thee and thy family! The Lord of Magnificence sends thee greeting!” His lordship replied: “He is peace. Peace cometh from Him and returneth to Him. Salutation to thee! The peace, mercy, and blessing of God be with thee, O my friend! The angel of death has come to take my soul. Hast thou any good news to give me?” Jebrâil replied: “O Muhammad, rejoice! I swear by that God who has in reality sent thee as a mercy to the human race, that when I came the portals of heaven were opened, the angels congratulated each other on the coming of thy soul. I have seen the highest paradise adorned, and the Hûris with large eyes in ecstasies of joy for thy impending arrival.” His holy and prophetic lordship replied: “I do not ask about these matters, O Jebrâil. Give me tidings that will comfort my mind.” Jebrail continued: “O Muhammad, the keys of paradise will be in thy hand, and no one shall enter it before thee.” He rejoined: “I do not ask about this.” Jebrâil continued: “On the morn of the resurrection the banner of Muhammad will be in thy hand; under it will be Adam, with all his descendants, uttering the words: ‘There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the apostle of Allah.’ He continued: “This is not what I want to know.” Then Jebrâil began to weep, and said: “Dear friend, what, then, wantest thou to know? And what glad tidings askest thou?” The prophet said: “I grieve for the poor and weak professors of our religion, for whom I have laboured so much, and I desire to know who will take care of them when I am gone, and what their condition will be?” Jebrâil replied: “None of the prophets and apostles can enter paradise before thee, and, in like manner, no nation can enter it before thy people have entered. This is on account of the honour in which God the Most High holds thee, and for the sake of the love which thou bearest towards thy adherents they will obtain favour and mercy.” His lordship replied: “O Jebrâil, now is my soul refreshed and my spirit rejoiced, because of the glad tidings thou hast communicated to me.” Then he said: “O angel of death, come forward and execute what thou hast been ordered.” When the angel of death approached, his prophetic lordship said to Jebrâil: “O my beloved, leavest thou me alone? Pray to God the Most High and Glorious that the last agony of death may be easy to me.”’
Fattimah Zohrâ—u. w. b.—said: ‘On that occasion I heard a voice uttering the following words: “I am present, I am present! O my friend, rejoice, for thou wilt enter our paradise!” Hereon perspiration more fragrant than musk trickled down the forehead of his lordship, and I heard a melody the like of which I had never heard before in my life, nor did I perceive any change in the intellect of the apostle of God even till his last breath.’ The writer of these pages says that although he entertained some doubts about the story of Moa’adh B. Jabal, he has nevertheless inserted it in this place for the sake of greater perspicuity.