024 - Planting the seeds for Yathrib

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Recall we discussed the death of Abu Talib after which the protection that the Prophet PBUH enjoyed ceased to exist. Initially, Abu Lahab felt obligated to give the Prophet PBUH the same protection, but within a week or two, he canceled it. After this, Mut'im ibn Adi offered protection to the Prophet PBUH. And it was under the protection of Mut'im that the Prophet PBUH lived. However, this was a very precarious and awkward situation. Why? Because (i) the Quraysh were not too happy with this protection; and (ii) Mut'im was a very old man (and in fact, he will pass away within a year after the Prophet's PBUH Emigration to Madinah.) So the Prophet PBUH realizes he needs to leave Makkah. He has already tried Ta'if, but Ta'if has failed him. So what does he do now?

Approaching Hujjaj

The Prophet PBUH tried presenting himself to the tribes that came for hajj (the Arabic used in the narration is "ya'ridu nafsahu [يعرض نفسه - he presents himself]"), and he asked them to sponsor him; to transfer allegiance. This was something known, but very rare — the Arabs had this concept that sometimes, someone changed tribes for a marriage or political reason; but this was rare. Nevertheless, the Prophet PBUH tried to utilize this concept by approaching the various people who came for hajj. (Side note: And as we mentioned in episode 4, hajj was a phenomenon that continued from the time of Ibrahim AS.)

In Mina, different tribes camped in different zones (just like in our times where people from different countries camp in different zones), so the Prophet PBUH would utilize the fact that people were coming to him (i.e., to Makkah), and he would go to each tribe asking for protection. And there are records that the Prophet PBUH was doing this even before Abu Talib died — but he was only doing it to preach Islam, not to ask them to adopt him. This time, however, he went to them to ask for political asylum.

And there are numerous reports from eyewitnesses reporting what the Prophet PBUH would say at the time. Of them is the story of Rabi'ah ibn Abbad (ربيعة بن عباد) who many years later said, "I remember when I was a young child, a young man (the Prophet PBUH) came and spoke to my father, telling him to embrace the worship of Allah, and to leave idolatry, and to accept him into his tribe. I also saw an elderly man standing behind him, wearing a Yemeni cloak and having two ponytails. And when this young man finished and moved to the next tent, this elderly man came forward and said, 'O people, this is a person who is calling you to give up your gods al-Lat and al-Uzza and the way of your forefathers — so do not give up that way, and stay with the way of your forefathers.'" So, Rabi'ah said, "I asked my father who these two men were, and he told me, 'The first man is the man claiming to be a prophet, and the elderly man is his uncle Abd al-Uzza (Abu Lahab).'"

In another narration reported in many books, the Prophet PBUH is recorded to have said, "Who will take/adopt me so that I may preach the Message of monotheism? Because the Quraysh have prevented me from preaching the Speech of Allah." And he PBUH approached many tribes —Kindah (كندة), Banu Kalb (بنو كلب), Banu Hanifa (بنو حنيفة), Banu Amir ibn Sa'sa'a (بنو عامر بن صعصعة), etc.— but all of them rejected the Message, some of them more harshly than others. And there are several interesting stories with regard to this:

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1. The Tribe of Kindah

The Prophet PBUH approached the chieftain of Kindah (كندة). And note, Kindah was a tribal kingdom that was very prestigious a few hundred years back. However, at the current time, they lost this status, though they are still a big tribe. And the Prophet PBUH approached one of the chieftains of Kindah, and the chieftain listened very attentively, and then said, "This is a very interesting Message. Come with me; I will grant you an audience with the other chiefs. What you said to me, say to them." So the Prophet PBUH followed him and preached the same Message to them. Then the man who brought him in said, "O my fellow tribesmen, if we were to take this matter from this young man (early 50s) from the Quraysh and adopt him, we will have a Message through which we can conquer the other Arabs." Notice he is thinking politically. He wants to regain the tribal kingdom of Kindah. And he realized the power of this Message of Islam. So he is telling the other chiefs to think not in terms of theology, but in terms of politics and power. Then he said to the Prophet PBUH, "If we were to follow you, and then Allah gives us victory over your enemies, will you give us control of this affair after you?" Meaning, "Will we be the rulers after you?"

To which, the Prophet PBUH responded very accurately, "The kingdom belongs to Allah, and Allah gives it to whomever He pleases." Notice the beauty of the response — he didn't say yes or no. He sees the reason they want to embrace the faith is not genuine Iman, but politics, so he is not attracted himself to this group. The chieftain said, "So you are asking us to follow you, stick our necks out behind you in order to have them cut off (in war), and then after we have spilled our blood to conquer the Arabs, you will take the kingdom? Go! We have no need of this!" So the whole point for them was politics. They did not find any use in a Message that would not give them power.

And look at the wisdom, sincerity, and firmness of the Prophet PBUH: The Kindah tribe is one of the heavyweights of the Arabs — yet, the Prophet PBUH did not compromise the Message of Allah. He gave up an opportunity many of us would have no problem compromising. He realized two things: (i) The Message of Islam cannot be compromised; and (ii) this group of people will not be true believers — and Allah helps this religion through true believers; not through the power and might of Kindah or any other tribes.

So the Prophet PBUH went on his way.

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2. Banu Shayban ibn Tha'laba

Another story is that of the Banu Shayban ibn Tha'laba (بنو شيبان بن ثعلبة). Generally, the Prophet PBUH would go with Abu Bakr to a tribe, because Abu Bakr was an expert at tribal knowledge/genealogy. (Side note: This shows us the Prophet PBUH took advantage of the knowledge of the people around him. If this is the case of our Prophet PBUH, where do we stand? This is something many Muslim groups find awkward, "How could the Prophet PBUH have benefited from the knowledge of other people?!" etc. But we keep on seeing in the seerah the humanity of the Prophet PBUH: indeed, he is the Prophet of Allah, but he does not have all-encompassing knowledge.)

When the Prophet PBUH and Abu Bakr go to this tribe, Abu Bakr greets them and asks them, "من القوم؟" which is the polite way of asking, "Who are you?" They say, "We are the Banu Shayban ibn Tha'laba." Then Abu Bakr leans over to the Prophet PBUH and says, "Ya Rasulullah, the Banu Shayban are of the most noble, illustrious, and intelligent tribes of the Arabs — and they have amongst them X, Y, and Z, who are known for their generosity and sincerity"—Abu Bakr is preparing the Prophet PBUH. And they exchange some pleasantries back and forth, introduce themselves —"I am the son of Abu Quhafa from the Quraysh, and this is the grandson of Abdul Muttalib," etc.— then the Banu Shayban say, "What is your matter?" The Prophet PBUH spoke, "We have come here to invite you to the worship of Allah alone, and that you reject the false gods. And we also ask you to accept us, take us into your tribe, because the Quraysh have been arrogant and evil and prevented us from spreading the Speech of Allah; and Allah is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy (i.e., I am asking for your help, but Allah does not need your help)." The tribal leaders said, "Is there anything more?" And the Prophet PBUH recited the famous verses of Surah al-An'am (سورة الأنعام):

قُلْ تَعَالَوْا أَتْلُ مَا حَرَّمَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ أَلَّا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا ۖ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا ۖ وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلَادَكُم مِّنْ إِمْلَاقٍ ۖ نَّحْنُ نَرْزُقُكُمْ وَإِيَّاهُمْ ۖ وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ ۖ وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُم بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ

وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا مَالَ الْيَتِيمِ إِلَّا بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ حَتَّىٰ يَبْلُغَ أَشُدَّهُ ۖ وَأَوْفُوا الْكَيْلَ وَالْمِيزَانَ بِالْقِسْطِ ۖ لَا نُكَلِّفُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۖ وَإِذَا قُلْتُمْ فَاعْدِلُوا وَلَوْ كَانَ ذَا قُرْبَىٰ ۖ وَبِعَهْدِ اللَّهِ أَوْفُوا ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُم بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ

"Say, [O Prophet,] 'Come! Let me recite to you what your Lord has forbidden to you: Do not associate others with Him [in worship]. [Do not fail to] honor your parents. Do not kill your children for fear of poverty. We provide for you and for them. Do not come near indecencies, openly or secretly. Do not take a [human] life —made sacred by Allah— except with [legal] right. This is what He has commanded you, so perhaps you will understand. And do not come near the wealth of the orphan —unless intending to enhance it— until they attain maturity. Give full measure and weigh with justice. We never require of any soul more than what it can afford. Whenever you speak, maintain justice — even regarding a close relative. And fulfill your covenant with Allah. This is what He has commanded you, so perhaps you will be mindful'" [Quran, 6:151-152] — verses about ethics and morality.

The chieftains said, "Anything more?" And the Prophet PBUH recited:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ ۚ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ

"Indeed, Allah commands justice, grace, as well as courtesy to close relatives. He forbids indecency, wickedness, and aggression. He instructs you so perhaps you will be mindful" [Quran, 16:90].

The chieftain said, "You have indeed come with good, and you have called us to the best of morals. And the Quraysh have lied against you." Notice this implies that even before the Prophet PBUH came, they were aware of the things the Quraysh were saying about him PBUH. And this shows that the phenomenon of the Prophet PBUH has spread amongst the Arabs. When he presents the Message, they say, "The Quraysh have lied, and your Message is indeed righteous." And their elder, Hani' ibn Qabisah^[1] (هانئ بن قبيصة), stood up and said, "I have heard what you have said, O member of Quraysh. And I feel if we leave our religion and embrace your ways after a first meeting, this will be a hasty decision, and it might cause us harm in the long run. We also have people we have left behind whose advice we have not sought on this matter, and whose support is necessary. So I think we should wait, and you should wait. And we shall return, and you shall return (i.e., next year)." And then this elder referred to their military leader, al-Muthanna ibn Harithah (المثنى بن حارثة), "What do you say?" (Notice clearly Abu Bakr was right when he said they are wise, intelligent, and noble people.) Their military chief said, "What our elder, Hani', has said is true. We will not be hasty. Also, there is another matter: We have treaties with two groups of people: One with our neighboring Arab tribes, and one with Kisra (كسرى - Khosrow the Emperor of the Sassanids)" — we can see from this that these people were living in the bordering regions of the Persian Empire. Muthanna continued, "As for the Arabs, we don't have any fear or worry; but as for Kisra, we have a deal with him to be neutral in all affairs in the Arabian Peninsula. And this matter of yours does not seem to be something the kings would approve of. So if we were to accept it, it would only be on the Arabs' side. Not with our dealings with Kisra." Thus, he is basically saying, "We won't help nor fight you against the Persians." Indeed, the Sassanid Empire was a mighty superpower; a massive empire.

The Prophet PBUH said, "Your response has been fair. But Allah's religion will only be helped by those who embrace it fully." And before leaving, the Prophet PBUH said, "What if I were to tell you that this matter of Kisra, Allah will grant you victory over their kingdom? And you will enjoy their land, money, and captive women? Would you accept?" One of the younger ones said, "Yes, of course." But the elders found this prediction incredulous.

Subhan'Allah. It is truly remarkable that even though the Prophet PBUH is in a dire situation, he is promising victory over the Persians. And what is really amazing is the specificity of the prediction: it was for Kisra only, and not Qaisar (قيصر - Caesar) — Allah's promise is specific and true.

And the Prophet PBUH left them at this.

(Tangent: We all know what happened when the Prophet PBUH sent the king, Kisra, a letter in 7 AH [see episode 71]. The king tore the letter up. And the Prophet PBUH said, "As he tore my letter up, Allah will tear their kingdom up." Indeed, for 400 years, the Romans could not damage the Persians, but when the Muslims emerged on the scene, they destroyed it in only 2 years. And to this day, historians are mystified, completely baffled, and astounded, "How could this have happened?" And indubitably, if anyone were to have predicted the collapse of the Persian Empire during the 7th century, they would have been called crazy. If anything, the Romans were the ones on the verge of collapsing — as Allah says, "Alif Lam Mim. The Romans have been defeated" [Quran, 30:1-2] — the Persians won at one point. And there was this fear that the Roman Empire would have to give up Damascus. Little did they realize Damascus would come into Muslim hands, and the Persian Empire in its entirety would collapse. It was one of the most astounding incidents in history if you understand what the Persian Empire was. Just google the images of their massive palaces in Ctesiphon. And this was all conquered by literally a group of Bedouins who had converted to a new faith, and had no military power. We all know the story between Rib'i ibn Amir [ربعي بن عامر] and the Persian commander, Rustum [رستم - Rostam], where Rustum basically said, "What are you guys doing here?" and Rib'i gave that brave response, "We have come out from our land to get people out of the worship of other people, and to embrace them into the worship of Allah SWT..." And it's amazing that within 2 years, the entire Sassanid Empire collapsed and became a nonexistent history of the past. All of these lands —Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, etc.— became Muslim lands within a few years of the death of the Prophet PBUH. And *this* is the prophecy the Prophet PBUH foretold to the Banu Shayban.)

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3. Small Tribe From Yathrib: The Khazraj

The main story, of course, is the story of a small group from Yathrib (يثرب) whom the Prophet PBUH was not too familiar with (even though he had visited the city once or twice), and that is the story of the tribe of Khazraj (خزرج). As we know, it was from them that the story of Islam took a whole different turn.

But before we get there, we need to talk about the city of Yathrib:

The City of Yathrib

The city of Yathrib was composed of three main groups of people. Two of whom were Arab, and one large group of Jews.

The Arab tribes:

• Banu al-Aws (بنو الأوس)
• Banu al-Khazraj (بنو الخزرج)

The Jewish tribes:

• Banu al-Nadir (بنو النضير)
• Banu Qaynuqa (بنو قينقاع)
• Banu Qurayza (بنو قريظة)

The city had been a flourishing oasis for about 100 years. It wasn't an ancient city; it was relatively modern. And it had one of the only areas in the entire Arabian Peninsula where the Jews were living — Yathrib and Khaybar (خيبر) were the only areas in the entire Hejaz where there were Jews. The other closest Jews were in Yemen — far, far away.

The year that Abu Talib died (the 10th year of the dawah), the Prophet PBUH met the first group of the people of Yathrib who were to convert to Islam. There were a number of things that happened in Yathrib that facilitated this conversion. The most important was a battle called the Battle of Bu'ath (حرب بعاث), a.k.a., the Day of Bu'ath (يوم بعاث). This battle was the culmination of a civil war between the Aws and the Khazraj that lasted for over a decade. They were having minor skirmishes over typical Bedouin issues —land rights, watering rights, grazing rights, etc.— and these built up bigger and bigger until finally, there was a major battle, the Battle of Bu'ath. This battle took place around 4-5 years before the Hijrah, i.e., around 2½-3 years before the engagement between the Khazraj and the Prophet PBUH.

Aisha RA says in Sahih Bukhari, "The Day of Bu'ath was a gift from Allah to the Prophet PBUH. It was because of Bu'ath that their (Aws & Khazraj) unity had been fragmented and their leaders completely decimated." The battle killed the bulk of the senior members of the Aws and Khazraj. And those left were generally the younger generation who had seen 10 years of blood and war, and they were sick of it. So they wanted something new, something that would give them meaning and purpose in life. Indeed, youngsters are easier to change, whereas elders are set in their ways. Nevertheless, as fate would have it, there was one senior member left after the battle: Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul (عبد الله بن أبي ابن سلول) who was to become one of the 'bad apples' of the Arabs of Madinah. As we will see, it was his seniority that gave him arrogance. He was the undisputed leader of Yathrib in terms of seniority and rank — and had it not been for Islam, there would be no opposition to him and against him. But as we know, Islam came, and that made him resentful and antagonistic toward it, leading him to eventually become the leader of the munafiqun (منافقون - [religious] hypocrites/people who pretend to be Muslim).

[But we are jumping the gun here; let's get back to what is happening in Yathrib.]

From historical accounts, we find there are indications that the Message of Islam had already reached Yathrib/Madinah even before the Prophet PBUH engaged with the Khazraj:

1. Of them is the story of Suwayd ibn al-Samit (سويد بن الصامت). He was the poet of the Khazraj. Before the Battle of Bu'ath, in the earlier stages of Islam when the Prophet PBUH was doing peaceful dawah in Makkah, Suwayd went for hajj and searched for the rumored Qureshi 'magician/poet' (i.e., the Prophet PBUH). And he says to the Prophet PBUH, "I have heard that you have eloquent speech — and I have something similar to you." The Prophet PBUH said, "What do you have? Let me listen to it." So Suwayd recited his poetry, which indubitably was at an advanced level —typical beautiful, classical pre-Islamic poetry— and the Prophet PBUH said, "What you have is good, but what I have is better"—indeed, you cannot compete with the Quran. Suwayd said, "Let me hear." And the Prophet PBUH began reciting the Quran to him. Suwayd was dumbstruck, he said, "Let me think about this. This is deep." And he returned to Yathrib and it was in that year the Battle of Bu'ath took place. And he died in the battle. Later on, his people said, "We are certain he died a Muslim."
2. There is also another reference indicating the Message of Islam had already reached Yathrib. It is said that a young man of the Khazraj whom the Prophet PBUH approached during the early days of dawah came close to converting, but he was dissuaded by his chieftain who advised him, "Mind your own business; don't worry about this guy (the Prophet PBUH)." And he also died in the Battle of Bu'ath. And it is reported that as he was dying, he began saying the tasbih, tahmid, and takbir (تكبير).

So there are references to Islam having reached Yathrib. But the main conversion will take place in the 10th year of the dawah:

The Prophet's PBUH Engagement With the Khazraj

The Prophet PBUH was making his rounds in Mina (منى), looking for help and protection. Of course he was concentrating on the big tribes —Banu Kindah, Banu Hanifa, etc.— but he didn't ignore the smaller ones. So when he saw a small tribe at Aqaba (close to what is now Masjid al-Khayf [مسجد الخيف]), he asked, "من القوم؟ (Who are you?)" They said, "We are from the Khazraj." The Prophet PBUH thinks, "Which Khazraj?"—but here, Abu Bakr is not there to help him out. So he asks them, "The Khazraj that are from the neighbors of the Jews? (i.e., are you from Yathrib?)" They said, "Yes." The Prophet PBUH said, "May I speak with you?" They said, "Yes, go ahead." So the Prophet PBUH sat down and explained to them the teachings of Islam, recited the Quran, explained tawhid, warned against shirk, all with the same passion, sincerity, and zeal as if he was speaking to one of the massive tribes like the Banu Hanifa, even though they were but six people without a tent. This isn't one of the rich tribes! (Side note: The Khazraj were generally considered less wealthy compared to the Aws. The Khazraj were primarily comprised of farmers and laborers, whereas the Aws had a larger presence of businessmen and merchants.)

And he PBUH moved on.

And subhan'Allah — Allah had willed that Islam would be helped by this 'obscure' tribe that the Prophet PBUH hardly recognized. This shows us we are never supposed to trivialize any opportunity that presents itself to us. No doubt, the Prophet PBUH was concentrating on the elites; but he didn't ignore the others. When he passed by the Khazraj, he gave them the same dawah with the same zeal. And these six people converted to Islam as the first major converts from outside of Makkah.

Why Did This Happen?

Why did the Khazraj convert to Islam?

1. Firstly, indeed, it is up to Allah AWJ whom He chooses; and He had chosen the people of Yathrib to become the first Islamic republic.

2. The Khazraj [and Aws] were the only Arab group in the region that had knowledge of a monotheistic religion as they interacted with the Jews. So they understand the concept of tawhid, prophets, rituals, laws and ethics, and a scripture from God. These were alien concepts for most of the Arabs — they had never seen a prophet [see Quran, 32:3], let alone a revelation. But the Khazraj [and Aws] know what a prophet is, and understand what a Book does. So they feel inferior to the Jews — because the Jews had a higher civilization than them. The Jews could read and write, had 'madrasahs' and places of worship, while the Khazraj and Aws didn't — and because of this, they felt inferior. And the Jews flouted this, "We are better than you. We have a Book. We have prophets," etc. And of course, as we know, generally, Judaism does not allow conversion. So basically, for generations, the Jews used to flout their superiority while not giving the Aws and Khazraj any opportunity to convert. And the Jews would say to the Aws and Khazraj whenever the civil wars would take place, "It's only a matter of time before we win over you and massacre you down to the last person; because we are waiting for a prophet who is about to come, and as soon as he comes, it will be over"—they would say they will win over the pagans (the Arabs) when this prophet comes. Little did they know this flouting of arrogance would work against themselves. Because the Khazraj now understand tawhid, what it means to have a Book and a prophet — so when they meet the Prophet PBUH at Aqaba and the opportunity presents itself to have the same civilization, law, ethics, and morality, they embrace it; whereas the Jews, when they found out that the prophet they were waiting for came from the Arabs, they rejected that very prophet PBUH. And this is referenced in the Quran, "Although they used to pray for victory [by means of the Prophet] over the polytheists (the Arabs), when there came to them a Book from Allah which they recognized (the Quran), confirming the Scripture they had [in their hands], they rejected it" [2:89]. So their boasting and arrogance backfired. All of a sudden, the tables are turned.

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The six people of the Khazraj saw an opportunity to embrace a religion with a Book and a prophet which they had been deprived of and deep down inside knew to be true, so they converted to Islam and returned back home spreading the Message.

Of the six were some of the famous Ansar: Uqba ibn Amir al-Juhani (عقبة بن عامر الجهني), Jabir ibn Abdillah (جابر بن عبد الله), and As'ad ibn Zurarah (أسعد بن زرارة). They converted and went back and spread the Message, until in the next few months, everybody in the city of Yathrib had heard of the New Message, and they knew that some of their own had converted, and they were curious and interested to know about the man who had caused six of their own to convert.

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Lesson From the Dawah to the Khazraj

What is really amazing about this story is that the Prophet PBUH was being equally sincere to all the tribes. He's literally just planting seeds — and Allah knows where the fruit will come from. The Prophet PBUH didn't expect anything to come from the Khazraj. He himself said so, as recorded in a hadith: "When I was in Makkah, Allah showed me (in a dream) I would be emigrating to another land with greenery and palm trees. And I thought it might be in Yemen (he was expecting the big tribes); but rather, it turned out to be Yathrib (which was to be called Madinah later)." The Prophet PBUH did not expect the fruit to come from Yathrib, but he still gave his full attention to the people of Yathrib, and Allah SWT gave him back the fruit. And this is an important lesson for us — we should never trivialize any opportunity to do good, any type of khayr and dawah.

Indeed, because our Prophet PBUH did not trivialize the dawah, this initial seed of six people gave fruit; and the next year, more than double the amount of people came back to Makkah; and the next year, more than 10 times the amount; and by the third year, they demanded from the Prophet PBUH: "You are not going to live amongst the people who are persecuting you! You will come to us with izzah and honor! And we will give our lives and souls to protect you!" And this remarkable transformation reflects the Quranic truth: "Whoever is mindful of Allah, He will make a way out for them, and provide for them from sources they could never imagine" [Quran, 65:2-3]. And this is what happened with the Prophet PBUH.

In the upcoming episode, we will see how eventually, the tide changed so quickly that within just 2½ years, an entire city could be demanding the Prophet PBUH to come and be their leader. Allah SWT blessed him in a manner that would forever change history. And this is of course the wisdom of Allah, the planning of Allah, and the power of Allah SWT.

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Q&A

1. No reports of the Aws converting at this time. All we know is that the Prophet PBUH gave dawah to the Khazraj, and six of them converted.

2. Three basic conditions to make hijrah from a Muslim country to a non-Muslim country in our times:

• There must be freedom in the land to practice the main Pillars of Islam.
• One must have enough Iman through which he feels confident to be able to avoid the major sins.
• One must be well-grounded in his understanding of Islam to ensure he and his children can maintain Iman without fear of becoming apostate.

[Transcribed by Br. Safwan Khan & Faizan]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Re-revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, September 2023]