Habbab Ibn Aratt
Ummu Enmar was a woman of the Khuza
tribe in Mecca. She needed a young
slave, so she went to the slave market.
She began looking at the faces of the slaves. A young boy caught her attention. He looked healthy and strong, and he had an intelligent
face. Ummu Enmar decided to buy
him. On the way home she asked him,
“What’s your name, little boy?”
“Habbab,” he replied.
“And what’s your father’s name?”
“Al-Aratt.”
“Where are you from?”
“I’m from Necid.”
“Then you’re an Arab,” said Ummu Enmar. “But how did you become a slave?”
Habbab explained that one of the Arab
tribes raided their tent. They carried off the animals and took the women and
children as slaves. Habbab was among
them. He had had several
masters
before Ummu Enmar bought him.
His new owner placed the young boy
with a blacksmith in Mecca to learn how to make swords. Habbab learned quickly. When his wrists were strong enough, Ummu
Enmar rented a workshop for him. She
bought all the tools and equipment he needed to make swords.
In a short time Habbab became famous
in Mecca. He was honest and
trustworthy. People raced with one
another to buy his swords because they were well-made.
Although Habbab was young, he was as
intelligent and knowledgeable as older people.
After work when he was alone, he thought about the depraved state of
Arabian society. He worried about the
people’s low morals and mischief-making.
After this night of darkness, there must be a dawn, he thought. He hoped, he would live long enough to see
the new light.
Habbab didn’t have to wait long. He heard about Muhammad (pbuh) and the new
religion, he was teaching. Habbab went
to see the Prophet.
He was very much affected by Muhammad’s (pbuh) light. Giving his hand to the Prophet, Habbab
became the sixth Muslim in the world.
He gave witness that there is only one God, and that Muhammad (pbuh) was
his messenger.
Habbab did not hide the fact that he
had accepted Islam. It didn’t take long
for this news to reach Ummu Enmar. She
became very angry and went to see her brother, Siba. Some young men joined them, and they went all together to the blacksmith
shop. Habbab was busy working
hard. Siba approached him and said, “We
heard some unbelievable news about you.”
“What news?” asked Habbab.
“We heard you left our religion to follow Muhammad,” replied
Siba.
Habbab explained, “I didn’t leave my
religion. But now I only believe in one
God. I reject your idols. I gave witness that Muhammad (pbuh) is the
messenger of God.”
As soon as they heard this, Siba and
the others began beating Habbab. They
kicked him and hit him with iron bars.
Habbab fell down unconscious.
Blood was running from his wounds.
The news of what had happened spread
quickly. The old people felt bad
because Habbab had no family to protect him.
It took a lot of courage for a slave to go against the wishes of his
master.
The Qureish leaders were badly
shaken. They were afraid others would
reject the old religion as Habbab had. They were right. Others were encouraged by what Habbab had
done. They began to openly say that
they had become Muslims.
The Qureish leaders called a meeting
near the Ka’ba. They talked about their
problem with Muhammad (pbuh). Abu
Sufyan, Al-Velid Ibn
Mugire and
Abu Cehil were there. They agreed that
the Prophet was getting stronger every day.
They decided to stop the problem at its roots. Each tribe was to attack any of its members
who followed Muhammad (pbuh). They
decided to torture the followers until
they returned to their old religion or died.
Siba and his tribe had the duty of
torturing Habbab. When the noon sun was
at its hottest, they dressed Habbab in iron armor. Then they left him in the desert without any water. His skin
burned under the hot sun.
When he was in great pain, they asked,
“What do you think about Muhammad?”
Habbab replied, “He is
the servant and messenger of God. He
has brought the religion of truth to save us from this darkness.”
The men beat Habbab and then they
asked, “What do you say about Lot and Uzza?”
He answered, “They are deaf and
dumb idols.
They can’t help us or harm us.” Then Siba and the other men put hot stones on his bare back.
Ummu Enmar tortured Habbab as well. One day she saw the Prophet visiting the shop. Every day after that she went and put hot
iron on her slave’s head until he fainted.
Habbab prayed for God to punish Ummu Enmar and Siba.
The Prophet gave permission to his
companions to go to Medina. Habbab
prepared to join them. Before Habbab
left, Ummu Enmar got a terrible headache.
She tried everything, but the pain wouldn’t go away. Finally her sons heard about a remedy. The only way to stop the headache was to put
hot iron on her head. The pain of the
hot iron made her forget her headache.
Habbab understood that his prayer had been answered.
At Medina, Habbab was at peace at
last. He spent most of his time with
the Prophet. That made him very
happy.
Habbab took part in the battles of
Bedir and
Uhud. He saw the Prophet’s uncle, Hamza, kill Ummu
Enmar’s brother, Siba.
Living a long life, Habbab saw the
first four caliphs. Once he visited
Caliph Omar. Seating Habbab in a high
place, Omar said, “No one other than you and Bilal is worthy to sit here.” Then
Omar asked him about the torture.
Habbab was shy to talk about it, but Omar insisted. So Habbab took off his shirt and showed his
back. Everyone felt very bad about
it.
Later Habbab became very rich. He was well-known for his generosity. Habbab put silver coins in a special place
in his house. The poor and needy people
knew where the money was. Whenever
necessary, the poor could come and take some money without asking permission.
One day when some friends visited
Habbab, they found him crying. “Why are
you crying?” they asked.
Habbab replied, “I’m crying because my
friends are dead, but I’m still living.
I’m afraid of my
wealth and
the next life.”
When Habbab died, Caliph Ali stood at the side of his grave and
said, “May God have mercy on Habbab. He
struggled all his life on the path of Islam.
God never forgets anyone’s good deeds.”