Mukhtasar Bukhari

Sayyiduna Ka’b bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I participated in all the battles with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) which he fought, except for the Battle of Tabuk. Yes, I was also not present at the Battle of Badr, but none of those who were absent from it were blamed. At the Battle of Badr, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had set out with the intention of intercepting the caravan of the Quraysh, but Allah, the Exalted, suddenly brought the Muslims and their enemies face to face, without any prior arrangement (and thus the battle took place). Indeed, I was present with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on the night of ‘Aqabah, when we made a firm pledge to remain steadfast on Islam, and I would never prefer the Battle of Badr over the night of ‘Aqabah, even though among the people, the virtue of Badr is more well-known.

The story of my not participating in the Battle of Tabuk is that I was never as healthy, strong, and wealthy as I was at that time when I stayed behind from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in that expedition. By Allah! Never before had I possessed two camels together, but at the time of this expedition, I had two camels. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had a practice that when he intended to go on a campaign, he would not state it clearly, but would speak in such a way that people would think of another destination. When the time for this battle came, it happened to be in intense heat, and the journey was long and arduous, through desert paths, and the enemy was numerous. Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) clearly informed the Muslims that we are heading to Tabuk, so that they could properly prepare for the battle and the journey. Thus, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) openly stated his intention to the Muslims, and there were many Muslims with him, and there was no register or anything in which their names were recorded.

Sayyiduna Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him) says: There was no Muslim who wanted to remain absent from this battle, but he thought that his absence would not be known to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) until some revelation came regarding him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set out for this battle at a time when the fruits on the trees had ripened and the shade was pleasant (i.e., it was very hot). Anyway, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Muslims began to prepare for the expedition, and I too would go every morning to prepare for the journey with them, but would return empty-handed and do nothing. I would say to myself that I can prepare at any time (what is the hurry?). In this way, the days passed, and the people, after much effort, prepared their provisions, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Muslims set out one morning, and I had still not prepared anything. I said to myself that I will prepare my provisions in a day or two after them and then catch up with them on the way. When they had departed, the next morning I tried to prepare, but again returned empty-handed and did nothing. On the third morning, the same thing happened—I returned empty-handed and did nothing. This continued (that I kept saying, “I will leave today, I will leave tomorrow”), and meanwhile, the people hurriedly traveled far ahead. Many times I intended to set out and join them, and I wish I had done so, but it was not destined.

After the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had departed, whenever I went out in Madinah and met people, I would meet only the hypocrites, the excused, and the weak and feeble, and this grieved me. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not remember me anywhere on the way until he reached Tabuk. Then, after reaching Tabuk, while sitting among the people, he said: “What did Ka’b do, that he did not come?” A man from Banu Salamah said, “O Messenger of Allah! His pride in his fine clothes and beauty prevented him from coming.” Hearing this, Sayyiduna Mu’adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “O man! You have spoken badly. By Allah, O Messenger of Allah! We know nothing of him except good.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent.

Sayyiduna Ka’b bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) says: When the news reached me that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was returning, my grief was renewed, and I thought that I should devise some excuse to save myself from his anger, and I consulted some wise people among my relatives about this. When the news came that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was near Madinah, all these false ideas left my heart, and I became certain that I could not save myself from his anger by lying, so I resolved to speak the truth. In the morning, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) entered Madinah, and his blessed habit was that when he returned from a journey, he would first go to the mosque and pray two rak‘ahs, then sit to meet the people. When he had finished this, those who had stayed behind began to come and present (false) excuses and swear oaths. They were about eighty (80) or a little more. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) accepted their excuses and took their pledge and sought forgiveness from Allah for them, and entrusted their inner secrets to Allah.

I also came and greeted with salam, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled, but as a person smiles in anger, then said: “Come here.” I went and sat before him. He said: “Why did you stay behind? Did you not buy a mount?” I replied, “Why not (indeed, I had a mount). By Allah! If I were sitting before any worldly person, I could have made up excuses and saved myself from his anger, for I am a good speaker. But by Allah! I know that if today I lie to please you, Allah will soon make you angry with me (by revealing the truth), and if I tell you the truth, though you may be angry with me now because of it, I hope for Allah’s forgiveness in the future. By Allah! I have no excuse. By Allah! I had strength, power, and wealth, and none was my equal, yet I stayed behind.” Hearing this, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “He has spoken the truth.” And he ordered: “Go, until Allah gives a decision about you.” I got up and left, and some men from the tribe of Banu Salamah followed me and said, “By Allah! We have never seen you commit any sin before, and if you had made an excuse like the others, the Prophet’s prayer for your forgiveness would have been enough for you. By Allah! They kept blaming me so much that I thought of returning to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and retracting my confession and making an excuse. Then I asked them, ‘Is there anyone else who has confessed his sin like me?’ They said, ‘Yes, two men have confessed as you did, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them what he said to you.’ I asked, ‘Who are those two men?’ They said, ‘Murarah bin Rabi‘ al-‘Amri and Hilal bin Umayyah al-Waqifi (may Allah be pleased with them).’ They mentioned two righteous men who had participated in the Battle of Badr, and whose company I liked. When they mentioned these two, I felt reassured and went on.

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the people from speaking to those who had stayed behind, especially us three, so everyone began to avoid us (no one would even speak), and it was as if we were strangers. It seemed as if the earth (and sky) had changed, and it was not the same earth (on which we lived). Fifty nights passed in this state. Murarah and Hilal (may Allah be pleased with them) stayed in their homes, weeping, and I, being a young and strong man, would go out, pray with the Muslims in the mosque, and go about in the markets, but no one would speak to me. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would finish the prayer and sit, I would go and greet him and look carefully to see if his blessed lips moved in reply to my salam or not. I would pray near him and look at him with sidelong glances; during the prayer, he would look at me, and after the prayer, when I looked at him, he would turn away. In this way, a long time passed, and the estrangement of the people increased. One day, I went and climbed the wall of Abu Qatadah’s garden—he was my cousin, and I loved him dearly. I greeted him, but by Allah! He did not reply. I said, “O Abu Qatadah! I ask you by Allah, do you not know how much I love Allah and His Messenger?” He remained silent. I repeated the oath, but he remained silent. The third time, he said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” At that, my eyes filled with tears, and I turned away, climbed down the wall, and left.

(Sayyiduna Ka’b, may Allah be pleased with him, says:) Once, when I was walking in the market, a Christian farmer from Syria, who had come to sell grain in Madinah, met me. He was asking, “People! Show me Ka’b bin Malik.” The people pointed me out to him. When he came to me, he gave me a letter from the king of Ghassan. It read: “To proceed: We have heard that your Prophet (Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him) has treated you harshly, and Allah has not made you to be humiliated or wasted (you are a man of worth). Come to us, and we will treat you well.” When I read it, I thought this too was a test from Allah. I immediately threw the letter into the oven and burned it.

Forty nights out of the fifty had passed when suddenly a messenger from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came and said, “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has ordered you to separate from your wife.” I asked, “Should I divorce her, or what should I do?” He said, “No, just separate from her. Do not have marital relations.” The same order was given to my two companions. I told my wife, “Go to your parents’ home and stay there until Allah gives a decision about me.” (She went.)

Sayyiduna Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The wife of Hilal bin Umayyah (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allah! Hilal bin Umayyah is very old and has no one to serve him. If I serve him, do you object?” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “No, but do not have marital relations.” She said, “By Allah! Since the day your anger befell him, he does nothing but weep.” (Then he says:) Some of my relatives said to me, “If you also ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for permission regarding your wife (that she may serve you), it would be appropriate, as he gave permission to Hilal bin Umayyah’s wife.” I said, “By Allah! I will never ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for permission in this matter, for I do not know what he will say (whether he will permit or not), and I am a young man.”

After this, ten more nights passed, making fifty nights since the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had forbidden people to speak to us. On the morning of the fiftieth night, after I had prayed Fajr and was sitting on the roof of my house, as Allah, the Exalted, has mentioned (in Surah al-Tawbah: 117), I was so distressed with my life that, despite the vastness of the earth, it seemed constricted to me. Suddenly, I heard the voice of a caller (Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him) who had climbed the mountain of Sal‘ and was calling out loudly, “Ka’b bin Malik! Rejoice!” Upon hearing this, I fell into prostration, and I was certain that my difficulty had been removed. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had informed the people after Fajr prayer that Allah had forgiven us, so people began to come in crowds to congratulate me and my two companions (Murarah and Hilal, may Allah be pleased with them). A man (Sayyiduna Zubair bin al-‘Awwam, may Allah be pleased with him) came to me on horseback, and a man from the tribe of Aslam ran up the mountain, and the voice of the one on the mountain reached me before the horseman. When the man whose voice I heard arrived, I (in my joy) took off my clothes and gave them to him. By Allah! Those were the only two garments I had that day, and I borrowed two garments from Abu Qatadah and went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). On the way, people met me in crowds, congratulating me on the acceptance of my repentance and saying, “Congratulations on Allah’s forgiveness.” Sayyiduna Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him) says: When I entered the mosque, I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sitting, surrounded by people. As soon as he saw me, Sayyiduna Talhah bin ‘Ubaydullah (may Allah be pleased with him) quickly stood up, shook my hand, and congratulated me. By Allah! None of the Muhajirun stood up to congratulate me except him, and I will never forget his kindness.

Sayyiduna Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him) says: When I greeted the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he said: “And (I saw that) his blessed face was shining with happiness: ‘Ka’b, rejoice in the best day you have had since your mother bore you.’” (He continues:) I asked, “O Messenger of Allah! Is this glad tidings from you or from Allah?” He replied, “No, rather from Allah.” And when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was happy, his face would shine like the moon, and we would recognize it. When I sat before him, I said, “O Messenger of Allah! I wish to give all my wealth in charity for the sake of Allah and His Messenger as gratitude for the acceptance of my repentance.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Give some in charity and keep some for yourself; that will be better for you.” I said, “I will keep my share in Khaybar for myself and give the rest in charity.” Then I said, “O Messenger of Allah! Indeed, it was only because of my truthfulness that Allah saved me, and as part of my repentance, I will never lie as long as I live.” By Allah! I do not think that Allah has ever bestowed such a favor on any Muslim in a trial for speaking the truth as He has on me. Since I told the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) the truth in this matter, I have never intentionally lied to this day, and I hope that Allah will protect me from lying for the rest of my life.

And Allah revealed these verses of Surah al-Tawbah (117, 118) to His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): “Allah has turned in mercy to the Prophet... O you who believe! Fear Allah and be with those who are truthful.” By Allah! Since I embraced Islam, I do not consider any favor of Allah upon me greater than that He enabled me to speak the truth before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and protected me from lying. If I had lied, I would have been ruined like those (hypocrites) who lied. When Allah revealed the revelation, He used such harsh words for the liars as He has not used for anyone else. He said: “When you return to them, they will swear to you by Allah (falsely)...” up to the verse (Surah al-Tawbah: 95, 96).

Sayyiduna Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The matter of us three was deferred, unlike those who swore false oaths, whose excuses the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) accepted, took their renewed pledge, and sought forgiveness for them, and Allah delayed the decision about us until He commanded. That is why Allah said (in the Qur’an): “And (He forgave) the three who were left behind.” (Surah al-Tawbah: 118) And in this verse, “those left behind” means that our matter was delayed and we were kept in suspense; it does not mean that we stayed behind from jihad, but rather that we were left behind those who made excuses and whose excuses the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) accepted.