“I want to sleep!” whined Ali, digging deeper into his soft dark blue comforter. “It’s Fajr. You have already missed the Jamaat. Now rise and shine!” Dad spanked Ali.
Ali wildly sprang out of bed and dragged himself to the bathroom with a sulking face. After praying his Fajr, he still frowned and dived back into his cozy bed. Dad eyed him quietly, pretending to read a book. Ali lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling.
“Dad, why is Islam so difficult? I mean Fajr is very tough. The whole world is sleeping and Muslims are up praying!”
“That’s because we love and thank Allah (swt) the most!” Dad replied.
“But I am sure others do, too. Maybe at a more convenient time.” Ali argued.
“Well… nothing special comes easily. You do have to work very hard for good grades, a winner’s place in sports or any competition, right?”
“Yeah!”
“So this is a race of good deeds. Only the best doers will be honoured with great stuff in Dunya and finally Allah’s (swt) special Jannah! We just have to wake up for Fajr, and it is a test for us, but imagine what Abdullah As-Sahmi (rtam) had to do?”
“Who was he?”
Dad walked over and jumped on Ali’s bed with an excited grin. “Oh! You don’t know him? This is my very favourite story of one of the bravest companions!”
Ali got curious. “Tell me.”
“It was during Umar’s (rtam)s caliphate. Abdullah bin Huthaafah As-Sahmi (rtam) and his Muslim soldiers were once captured by the Roman army. They took them to their Emperor as prisoners. He ordered As-Sahmi (rtam): ‘Convert to Christianity and I will share my land with you and give you my daughter in marriage.’
As-Sahmi (rtam) replied: ‘If you would have given me all that you own plus all that the Arabs own, I would not leave Muhammad’s (sa) religion for even the blinking of an eye!’”
“What does that mean?” Ali wondered.
“Well, As-Sahmi (rtam) wouldn’t give up Islam even for a second for all the riches of the world,” Dad explained.
“What happened next?” Ali’s curiosity mounted.
“The Emperor threatened to kill As-Sahmi (rtam), to which he replied: ‘That is up to you.’ The emperor ordered his soldiers to place As-Sahmi (rtam) on a cross and fire a volley of arrows at him to terrify As-Sahmi (rtam). They did so, but could not scare him.
Next, the Emperor had a huge boiling pot prepared by his men. He led another Muslim soldier to it and had him thrown into the pot, which melted away his body. His bones were floating on the surface only. As-Sahmi (rtam) was made to witness this cruel scene to horrify him.
As he was about to be thrown into the pot, As-Sahmi (rtam) began to cry. The Emperor was very happy. He knew that he had won this time. When he asked As-Sahmi (rtam) to follow his orders, As-Sahmi (rtam) replied:
‘I do not cry because I am frightened of you. I cry because I only have one soul to sacrifice for Allah (swt). I wish I had as many souls as the hair on my body to die for Allah (swt).’
Now the Emperor threw As-Sahmi (rtam) into a jail and did not give him food or water, until he was almost dead. To test him, the Emperor sent some alcohol and pork to As-Sahmi (rtam). He refused it, as he did not want to save his life and give the Emperor any chance of winning.
Desperately, the Emperor pleaded: ‘At least kiss my forehead and I will free you.’ This was the custom to honour high nobles at that time.”
“Did he?” Ali clutched his pillow.
“As-Sahmi (rtam) was a man of high Imaan (faith) and intelligence. He said: ‘I will kiss your forehead and you will release me and all of my men.’
The Emperor agreed, and that is how the brave Abdullah As-Sahmi (rtam) led his men back to Madinah to safety.
Umar (rtam) was the caliph of the Muslims then. He ordered everyone to welcome and honour As-Sahmi by kissing his forehead. And Umar (rtam) was the first one to do so.”
Ali thought for a while and said: “Fajr prayer seems no test at all when I think of what As-Sahmi (rtam) went through.”
“And I am certain that Allah (swt) will reward him higher than his expectations, Insha’Allah!”
“I think I will remind myself of this brave Sahabi every morning, when Shaitan comes to tuck me in and make me miss my Fajr Jamat,” Ali said with determination.
“Capture Shaitain instead! He will walk away disgraced Insha’Allah!” agreed Dad. “Now, who wants pancakes for breakfast? I can smell Mom at it in the kitchen already.”
“Yipee!” Ali and Dad cheered.
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