Abu AyyubB Al-Ansari

 

When the Prophet emigrated to Medina, everyone wanted him to stay at their house.  Abu Ayyub was a lucky person.  The Prophet stayed with him until his own house was built.

The Prophet first stopped at Quba near Medina.  He stayed there with his companions for a few days.  They built a masjid there.

Everyone was waiting for the Prophet in Medina.  He was riding a camel.  Each person there wanted the Prophet to stay with him.  This was of course impossible.  So the Prophet said he would stay where his camel stopped. 

The camel walked and everyone followed it.  When it passed a house, the owner felt sad.  Finally the camel stopped in front of Abu Ayyub’s house.  Abu Ayyub’s heart was filled with joy.  He took the Prophet’s bag.  He felt he was carrying the most important thing in the world.

Abu Ayyub’s house had two stories.  He wanted to give the room on the upper floor to the Prophet.  But the Prophet preferred to stay on the first floor.  That night Abu Ayyub couldn’t sleep.  He thought it was not suitable for him to be above the Prophet.  He said to his wife, “What can we do?  The Messenger of God is below and we are above.  How can we rest and sleep above the Prophet?”  The couple didn’t know what to do.  They were very careful when moving around.

The next morning Abu Ayyub said to the Prophet, “By God, we couldn’t rest or sleep last night.”

“Why not Abu Ayyub?” the Prophet asked.

Abu Ayyub explained how he and his wife felt.  But the Prophet preferred the lower floor because many people came to visit him.  Abu Ayyub agreed, but that night the couple couldn’t sleep again.  The next day Abu Ayyub again asked the Prophet to change floors.  This time he accepted.

The Prophet stayed in Abu Ayyub’s house almost seven months until the masjid was complete.  The Prophet’s house was built in an open space next to Abu Ayyub’s house.  So they became neighbors. 

Abu Ayyub loved the Prophet with all his heart, and the Prophet loved him dearly.  There was no distance between them.  The Prophet considered Abu Ayyub’s house as his own.  This pleased Abu Ayyub very much.

One day Abu Bakr left his house at midday and went to the mosque.  Umar saw him and asked, “Why do you come here at this hour?  Do you have a problem?”

“I left home,” Abu Bakr answered.  “There’s nothing to eat there, and  I’m very hungry.”

“I came here for the same reason,” said Umar.

A little later the Prophet came.  “Why are you two here at this hour?” he asked.  They answered that they were very hungry.  The Prophet said he was hungry, too.  The Prophet took them to Ayyub’s house.  His wife opened the door and welcomed them.  “Where’s Ayyub?” the Prophet asked.

“He’s working in a nearby palm grove,” answered his wife.

Ayyub heard the Prophet’s voice and came running.  He understood they were hungry.  So he immediately brought some branches of dates.  “I’ll kill an animal, too,” said Ayyub.

“If you do, don’t kill one that gives milk,” said the Prophet.

Ayyub cut a young goat.  His wife boiled half the goat and roasted the other half.  She made some fresh bread as well. 

When the food was ready, Ayyub set it before the Prophet and his companions.  The Prophet took a piece of meat and put it in some bread.  “Abu Ayyub, take this to Fatima,” said the Prophet.  “She hasn’t seen any food like this for several days.”

They ate the bread, meat and dates.  Tears flowed from the Prophet’s eyes.  He said, “Say, ‘bismillah - in the name of God,’ before you eat.  Say, ‘elhamdulillah,’ after you eat.  We will account for what we eat on Judgment Day.”

The Prophet called Ayyub the next day and gave him a gift.  Whenever someone did something for the Prophet, he would give something better in return.

Ayyub lived a very active life.  He fought in battles all his life.  When he was eighty years old, he joined the army.  The army went to Istanbul to try and conquer it.  His sons didn’t want him to go because of his age.  But Ayyub went anyway.  He traveled to Istanbul on a camel.  Ayyub taught the other soldiers many things.  He was very experienced in war.  The Muslims tried for four years, but they couldn’t conquer Istanbul.  Ayyub died there and was buried near the city walls.  His tomb can be visited in Istanbul today.