Talha

 

Talha was a young man.  He went to Syria on a trading trip with some other merchants.  Talha quickly returned home to Mecca.  He asked his family, “Did anything happen in Mecca after we left?

“Yes,” they replied, “Muhammad bin Abdullah said he was a prophet and Abu Bakr follows him.”

Talha thought to himself, “I know Abu Bakr.  He is an easy-going and gentle man. He’s an honest and upright trader.  We are all fond of him.  We love to listen to him because of his knowledge of Qureish history.”

Later Talha went to Abu Bakr and asked, “Is it true that Muhammad bin Abdullah says he’s a prophet and you follow him?”

“Yes,” replied Abu Bakr.  He talked to Talha about Muhammad (pbuh) and advised him to follow the Prophet.

Talha told Abu Bakr about a recent event.  One day, he was in the Basra market-place.  A wise old man said, “A man called Ahmad will appear in Mecca around this time.  He will be the last prophet.  Later he will emigrate to a land with black soil, water and palm trees.”

This story surprised Abu Bakr.  He took Talha to Muhammad (pbuh).  The Prophet told Talha about Islam.  Talha was excited.  He told the Prophet about his conversation with the old man in Basra.  Then Talha declared his faith.  He was the fourth Muslim Abu Bakr brought to Islam.

The Qureish were amazed at Talha’s becoming Muslim.  His mother was very upset.  She wanted her son to be a leader among the Qureish.  Some of them went to Talha and tried to force him to leave Islam.  But he refused.  So they punished him.

Musud bin Hirash told the following story about Talha:

“While I was going between Safa and Marwa, I saw a crowd of people.  They were pushing him from behind.  The man’s hands were tied behind his back.  The people were hitting him on the head. There was an old woman in the crowd.  She was shouting and cursing at him.

I asked about the young man.  They said, ‘It is Talha bin Ubaydullah.  He gave up his religion and follows the Hashim men!’

I asked, ‘Who is that woman?’

‘She’s his mother,’ they said.

The Qureish did not stop there.  One day a man nicknamed the ‘lion of the Qureish’ tied up Talha.  Then he tied up Abu Bakr.  Then he tied them both together.  The Qureish turned them over to some others.  They severely tortured them.”

Years passed and Talha grew in stature.  Other Muslims called him ‘the living martyr’.  The Prophet called him ‘Talha the Good’ and ‘Talha the Generous’.  During the Battle of Uhud, he earned the name ‘living martyr’.

Talha missed the Battle of Badr.  The Prophet sent Talha and Said bin Zayd outside of Medina on a mission.  When they returned the Battle of Badr was over.

In the Battle of Uhud the Muslims left the Prophet.  He was in danger.  There were only eleven Ansar with him and one Muhajir, Talha.  The Prophet was climbing up the mountain with his men.  A group of pagans attacked.

The Prophet shouted, “Whoever repulses these people will be my companion in Paradise.”

“I will,” shouted Talha.

“No, not you,” the Prophet said.

One of the Ansar said, “I will, Rasulullah.”

The Prophet agreed.  The Ansar man fought with the pagans until he became a martyr.  The Prophet and his men continued to climb the mountain.  But again the pagans came very close.  Again the Prophet asked who would stop them.

Talha said, “Let me stop them, Rasulullah.”

Again the Prophet replied, “No not you.”  The Prophet allowed one of the Ansar men to stay and fight the pagans.  He, too, fought until be became a martyr.  This happened eleven times.  All the men of Ansar were martyred.  Only Talha remained.  This time the Prophet gave Talha permission to fight the pagans.

The Prophet’s teeth were broken, his forehead was cut, his lip had burst open and his face was covered with blood.  He was also very tired.  Talha attacked the enemy and pushed them back.  He returned to the Prophet and helped him climb some more of the mountain.  Talha sat the Prophet down to rest.  Then he went back to the pagans and attacked them.

Abu Bakr explained what happened that day, “At that time, Abu Ubayda and I were far from the Prophet.  When we drew close, he said, ‘Leave me and go to Talha.’

We found Talha lying unconscious in a ditch.  He had more than seventy sword, spear, and arrow wounds.  Blood was flowing from these wounds.

Later the Prophet said about Talha at Uhud, “Whoever wants to see a man who has completed his life still walking on this earth, let him look at Talha.”

Whenever they talked about Uhud, Abu Bakr would say, “That entire day belonged to Talha.”

Talha was also a clever and successful merchant.  One day some goods worth seven hundred thousand dirhams came.  That night Talha couldn’t sleep.  He was worried about all that wealth.

His wife Ummu Kulsum, the daughter of Abu Bakr, said “What’s wrong with you?  Have I done something to bother you?”

“No,” answered Talha, “You’re a wonderful wife.  I’m just wondering how I can think of my Lord when there’s so much wealth in my house.”

“Why does it bother you so much?” asked Ummu Kulsum. “What about all the poor and needy?  Tomorrow morning you can distribute the goods to them.”

“May God have mercy on you,” said Talha.  “You are the just daughter of a just man.”  In the morning Talha put the goods on plates and in bags and gave it to the poor from the Ansar and Muhajir.

On another occasion, a man came to Talha for money.  He said he was Talha’s relative.  Talha said, “I haven’t heard about our family connection before.  But I have some land I bought for three hundred dirhems.  If you like you can have the land or sell it and take the money.”

The man wanted the money.  So Talha sold the land and gave the man the money from it.

Talha was famous for helping poor people and widows.  One of his friends, Said bin Zayd, said, “I traveled with Talha and I stayed in his home.  I have not found anyone more generous with food, clothing and money than Talha.”

Ali said, “With my own ears I heard Rasulullah say, ‘Talha and Zubayir are my companions in Paradise.’”