Abdullah ibn Hudhafah

ProfileAbdullah ibn Hudhafah

Abdullah ibn Hudhafah as-Sahmi (may Allah be pleased with him) was the younger brother of Khunais ibn Hudhafah. According to the early biographies, he accepted Islam as a boy, brought in by his brother, and migrated with him, but was too young to fight at Badr or Uhud.

Ibn Abbas told that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent a letter to Khosrau with Abdullah ibn Hudhafah as-Sahmi, and told him to give it to the governor of al-Bahrain, who handed it to Khosrau. When Khosrau read it, he tore it into pieces. Ibn al-Musayyib said that the Prophet ﷺ then asked Allah to tear them all into pieces (Sahih al-Bukhari). The early biographies tell it somewhat differently: that Abdullah went in to Khosrau himself, and would not give the letter to Khosrau's man, because the Prophet ﷺ had told him to give it into the emperor's own hand, and that Khosrau tore it up in front of him and threatened him and the Prophet ﷺ. According to the early biographies, the Persian court was torn by killings and coups in the years after that.

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri told that the Prophet ﷺ said that the best jihad is a word of justice spoken to an unjust ruler (Sunan Abi Dawud, graded sahih; Jami at-Tirmidhi, graded hasan).

According to the early biographies, in the time of Umar he was taken prisoner by the Romans on a campaign, together with a number of other Muslims, and brought before their emperor. According to the early biographies, the emperor offered him half of his kingdom if he would give up Islam, and he said that he would not give it up for the blink of an eye even if given the emperor's whole kingdom and all that the Arabs possessed. According to the early biographies, the emperor then tried to break him, by hunger and thirst, and by having him hung up while spears and arrows were thrown around him, and by offering him his kingdom again with his daughter in marriage, but he would not move. According to the early biographies, the emperor then had a vat of boiling oil brought, and had another Muslim prisoner thrown into it before his eyes, and when Abdullah was brought to the vat himself, he wept, and the emperor, thinking that he had broken him, called him back. Abdullah said that he had wept only because he had one life to give, and wished that he had a hundred souls to give for the sake of Allah.

According to the early biographies, the emperor, who was amazed at him, then said that he would let him go if he kissed his head. Abdullah would not agree to it for himself, and then agreed on the condition that all the Muslim prisoners be freed, and he kissed the emperor's head, and they were let go. According to the early biographies, when they came to Madinah, Umar stood and kissed Abdullah's forehead, and told the Muslims to do the same.

According to the early biographies, he lived on until the caliphate of Uthman, and died in Egypt, about 33 AH.

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